A Series of Simply Adorable and Confusing Things
by lunartick
Summary: Twoshot. In which Kurapika meets Midoya, survives an explosion, and learns that there are some people who can be downright scary.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is not the sequel to "A Series of Bizarre and Mildly Humourous Events". This is a separate short story (probably two chapters), because I am _still_ stuck writing the sequel. Apologies! The sequel got out of control, and I had to try to reign it in and put it back on track. At the same time, this short story is not entirely unrelated to the sequel, but only in the form of 'background' information.

This short story is simply the result of the question "What would happen if Kurapika met Midoya?". The answer is, of course, "A lot of deception and lying on Midoya's part". This story takes place on the same day Kuroro and Midoya invaded the Hunter Association York Shin HQ to hack into the Jyonen-user database. If you don't know what I mean, you have to read A Series of Bizarre and Mildly Humourous Events to understand this story. My intention was to provide a view of Midoya from someone who would judge her actions a lot harsher than Kuroro (the one of dubious morality) would. Also, I wanted to explore more of Midoya's character, Kurapika's character and the Hunter Association in general. Kuroro makes a cameo in the next chapter, for those missing him.

Though I'm not necessarily very happy with how this story turned out, I hope you still enjoy this story and please leave a review at the end of it! Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Hunter X Hunter does not belong to me. I do not own the copyright to any of these materials. This is a fanfiction written solely for the purposes of entertainment. If you wish to host this story on a site outside of , please contact the author for permission first.

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><p><span>A Series of Simply Adorable and Confusing Things<span>

The grounds before him were raging with activity. Dangerous-looking men and women, humming with the steady glow of experienced Nen-users, scuttled about focused on one task or another; less dangerous-looking men and women in uniform, armed to the teeth with various weaponry jumped to orders barked at them by tensed commanders; dogs of various breeds and sizes sniffed furiously at the churned up soil, wandering here and there as their noses led them on wild chases through the shrubs.

Kurapika knew none of them would find the missing Ryodan leader.

Standing at the entrance to the Hunter Association HQ (York Shin), Kurapika slowly scanned the frenzied activity before him as he reviewed in his head the information he had obtained just an hour earlier via the Hunter website. _Kuroro Lucifer had been brought in to the Hunter Association HQ (York Shin) by Two Star Blacklist Hunter Midoya._ At first he had been sceptical. Yes, he had heard rumours about how powerful this Blacklist Hunter was. Anyone who was anyone in the Blacklist business must have heard of Two Star Blacklist Hunter Midoya. Rumours about her included her involvement in the assassination of Klon, head of the terrorist group that took over the small country of Bunne, her annihilation of the entire cannibalistic tribe of Quar and her love affair with the crown prince of Jorke. But surely Kuroro Lucifer, even weak and defenceless, would not be captured so easily. That Kurapika had even managed to snag the man in the first place had been a piece of sheer luck. Surely, Kurapika was right to think this piece of information was just a rumour. But he was not. Surveillance footage from the guard post had showed him Kuroro Lucifer's bloody, battered face.

Immediately, Kurapika, who had been on a blimp leaving York Shin, ordered the captain to turn the blimp back or face the wrath of a thousand chains. The trip back had barely taken half an hour, but he had been too late. Kuroro Lucifer had escaped.

Still staring at the chaos before him, Kurapika frowned. He had to stop doing this; had to stop acting on impulse the moment he heard news of the cursed Spiders. If Kuroro Lucifer had been successfully arrested by the Hunter Association, he would undoubtedly get his just deserts without Kurapika having to lift a finger. If the Hunter Association failed to hold on to him (as was the case), there wasn't much Kurapika could do either. He had no doubt Kuroro Lucifer was far away by now. What had this trip accomplished, other than give him another cruel reminder of how unjust the world could be?

Well, not totally unjust. He _had _heard what the Blacklist Hunter named Midoya had done to Kuroro Lucifer. It was hardly enough to make up for the massacre of the Kurutas, but surely having his balls slowly snipped off with a pair of nail scissors would have given that drug-addled, sex maniac murderer some of his own medicine.

(Yes, Kurapika was aware that he had absolutely no evidence that Kuroro Lucifer was a drug addict or a sex maniac, but surely someone as immoral as the head of the Genei Ryodan was probably all that and more. He probably _watched porn_ _too_.)

"Good day," a soothing tenor murmured next to him.

Startled out of his thoughts, Kurapika's eyes flickered towards the owner of the voice, cursing himself for letting his guard down.

A young, boyish face framed by glasses and an unruly mop of black hair smiled back at him. "I apologize for startling you," the unassuming man murmured with a slight bow of the head.

Shaking himself out of his surprise, Kurapika shook his head and replied, "No, I was daydreaming." He looked the man once over again. "Do I know you?" he asked warily.

"No," the man replied, looking amused by Kurapika's bluntness, "but I know you, Kurapika. My name is Wing, I am Gon and Killua's Nen master, assistant master of the _Shingen-ryu_ school."

Gon and Killua. Kurapika felt a sharp jab of guilt at the way he had put their lives in danger with his recklessness. "Pleased to meet you," he replied, trying to sound at least the tiniest bit friendly. He wasn't in the mood for socialization, but this was his friends' master. The last thing he wanted to do was cause them more trouble by being rude to someone they obviously liked and respected, if he was any judge by the way they talked about the man.

"Pleasure to meet _you_," Wing replied, smiling kindly. "Why are you standing out here by yourself?"

"I…" Kurapika hesitated, wondering how much the man knew.

"Silly question. You must have heard about Kuroro Lucifer's capture," Wing continued as if Kurapika hadn't paused. "Chairman Netero has told me all about your vendetta against the Ryodan. I'm afraid you have come a little too late though; the man has escaped."

"Is anyone aware of how?" Kurapika asked. He had been thinking about it. How had the Nen-less, battered Kuroro Lucifer escaped from a building full of guards and powerful Nen-users? Either Kuroro Lucifer was a lot more cunning than Kurapika anticipated (which was perfectly plausible) or someone inside had helped him (yet again, perfectly plausible).

"That's what we are all trying to figure out now," Wing said with a small shrug. "It's quite mysterious the way he simply disappeared from within the building. No one wants to jump to conclusions but most people I have spoken to think he had some kind of help from the inside. Not necessarily from a hunter, mind you, but perhaps from one of the administration staff or sanitation staff. The ruthlessness of the Ryodan is quite well-known; I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to bribe or intimidate a clerk into helping him."

"That thought had occurred to me," Kurapika confessed. "How about the hunter who brought him in, in the first place? Has anyone checker her out?"

"Ah." Wing's face darkened suddenly, the change in mood from jovial to angry so abrupt Kurapika took a step back in surprise. "_Her_."

"What's wrong?" Kurapika asked cautiously.

Wing blinked and his face cleared. "Apologies," he said quickly. "It's just… I have a… _problem_ with the hunter who brought the Genei Ryodan member in. Midoya isn't… isn't the most… She can be quite…" Wing stopped suddenly, looking confused and slightly frustrated. "She is too much like Netero," he finally concluded.

"Is that not good?" Kurapika asked, bewildered. "Chairman Netero is a highly respected and powerful individual in the Hunter Association. Surely being similar to him is not a bad thing?"

"Ah, you probably don't know Chairman Netero very well." Wing shook his head. "It depends on what way Midoya is similar to him really. And she's just like him in terms of…" He took a deep breath then in an angry rush, growled, "Sexual perversion, irresponsibility, immaturity and pure evilness." A gentle smile lit up his face and he added, "But don't let me bias you against her…"

"Too late."

"At least meet her for yourself before you judge her," Wing urged, looking slightly worried. "I wouldn't want you to think ill of a person just because I said so. I… it pains me to think I might have just blackened her reputation… even if she deserves it. She did… I mean, she did do that thing to the President of BNE, which I know is _true_ because Netero told me and… but well now! It's not good to spread bad rumours about other people! Gosh, I am so ashamed of myself now. Please, you _have_ to meet her before you decide."

"No, I don't…"

"But I thought you would want to. This is the second time she has fought the Ryodan." Kurapika stared with sudden interest and Wing grinned knowingly at him.

"Second time?" Kurapika asked, astonished. He had never met anyone who had encountered the Ryodan _twice_ and survived (well there was Killua's family, but he wasn't exactly on speaking terms with them after trying to break into their stronghold and take their heir away). The sort of information he could obtain from her… Kurapika swallowed hard, trying not to salivate all over the front of his tunic.

"Oh yes," Wing told him. "The first time, she actually fought the entire Ryodan. She defeated three of them before she was forced to retreat." Kurapika inhaled sharply and tried not to choke on his own saliva. "The second time… I'm not too sure what happened as she is still being interrogated. I'm sure you can ask her. Whether she tells you or not really depends on her mood though. Midoya can be very fickle."

"Right," Kurapika muttered, already losing interest in Wing. "Yes, this… this Midoya, I would like to meet her. Where can I find her?"

Wing laughed and Kurapika felt his face flushing with the sudden awareness that Wing knew exactly what was going through his mind. "I think the Chairman is speaking with her now," Wing said, hiding his chuckles with a cough. "He should be done soon; Midoya hardly gets scolded as much as she should be." The boyish face darkened then brightened. "But then, she's a grown woman so…" Wing shrugged helplessly.

"Of course. So… the Chairman…?"

"Fiftieth floor."

"Thanks." Kurapika actually ran a good ten feet before he realized how rude he had been. He spun around, offering a swift bow at the same time. "My apologies…"

Wing was laughing. "Just like Gon and Killua," he chuckled, shaking his head. "Exactly like them."

Kurapika clenched hands that felt wet and warm with blood. "Not exactly," he said coolly.

Wing smiled. "Perhaps. We're all different individuals after all. Go."

Nodding, Kurapika turned and left, this time at a more dignified pace. Just to prove he wasn't _like_ them.

* * *

><p>Papers on the desk rustled. <em>"You are a powerful Hunter, Miss Midoya. I expected better of you. To bring such an infamous criminal into the organization and not secure him properly is…" <em>The clock ticked by slowly. _"… the damage done is great. Now no one trusts anyone; no one trusts you, everyone is second-guessing everyone, trying to figure out how Lucifer escaped…"_ The tick of the pen stopped. "Miss Midoya, are you listening?"

Midoya blinked as her eyes re-focused on the round face before her and she beamed. Her cheeks ached from smiling. She had been holding it for the better part of an hour; quite a personal record. "Yes, of course Beans," she said politely. The urge to yawn was powerful but Midoya kept it down. After sitting through countless board meetings listening to idiots who thought they _knew_ how to run a brothel, Midoya was good at pretending to be interested.

"Really?" Beans asked, staring suspiciously at her over the pile of papers on his desk. "What did I just say to you?"

"You were reprimanding me over my failure to secure Kuroro Lucifer of course," Midoya replied casually. She didn't need to pay attention to know that; the man had been on the same subject for the past hour.

"Right," Beans muttered, mollified and continued again.

Glancing above the round, bald head of Beans, Midoya caught Netero staring at her from behind his desk. He winked knowingly and she smiled back (not that she had a choice; her face felt rather stuck by this point).

"… and poor Kraus is so badly traumatised I wouldn't be surprised if he drops dead. The poor man could probably lose some weight and I must admit I do admire Kuroro Lucifer's ability to lug that much baggage around but still…"

Netero raised a finger and a thick bushy eyebrow. Midoya recognised the gesture immediately. It was a little game Netero liked to use to teach his students _Gyo_. Not that Midoya ever needed teaching that particular skill, having developed it naturally as a child. If anything, she had needed teaching on how to stop using it. Ah, such painful memories, but for now… Midoya gathered her Nen to her eyes.

"_Did you deliberately let Kuroro Lucifer free in the building?"_

Hah. Not good. But that was to be expected. Netero knew her like few did. Midoya pursed her lips in thought. There really wasn't any point in lying; Netero could sense a lie a mile away even from a deceitful little hussy like herself. Trying to lie would only make him more suspicious than he already was. She offered a quick nod, pretending to be responding to something Beans was saying.

A smile flickered over Netero's aged face, bringing deep wrinkles to the surface. _"Why?"_ his finger demanded.

Midoya shrugged and raised a finger of her own. _"Because I thought it would be fun."_ Which was technically true… just not all the truth.

Netero laughed out loud, effectively stopping Beans in mid-rant. "You are a hopeless child," he said, chuckling. "If you didn't do as much good as you do evil, I would probably have to kill you myself."

"That's the only reason I ever do any good; so you wouldn't come after me," Midoya replied with a genuine smile. She was hardly worried by Netero's words; things like that were what passed for affection and camaraderie in the world of Hunters. If she spent a day in the HQ without anyone offering to kill her, Midoya would have been truly offended.

"Sir?" Beans asked warily. "Is there something you needed to say? Because if there isn't, I would like to…"

"Oh, I think you've said enough," Netero replied cheerily.

"But sir!"

"You have repeated the same point over and over again for the past hour, Beans. I'm sure Midoya gets the message. She _does_ have a genius IQ you know?" His eyes twinkled. "Whether she actually heeds your words is of course entirely up to her at this point, so saying anything more would be rather pointless, no?"

"Sir, if I may remind you, this is the reason why Miss Midoya has turned out the way she has!"

Midoya turned her smile on Beans who blanched. "And what way would that be, Beans?" she asked sweetly. Beans made a very unmanly sound and darted with surprising speed behind Netero, his hands cupped firmly over his nose. It seemed her still remembered her pranks from her early days as Netero's student, when she had taken every opportunity to test the limits of her Nen.

"Immature, irresponsible, with the intelligence of a genius, the power and authority of a Two Star Hunter and the self-control of a baby," Netero replied in Beans's stead with a snort. Beans nodded furiously from behind Netero.

"It is very true indeed. I love you too, sensei. Let this baby give you a kissy," Midoya grinned, climbing to her feet and offering Netero a kiss on an aged cheek.

"You only ever call me sensei when you get into trouble and want me to help you wriggle out of it," Netero complained half-heartedly, his eyes on her chest. "Did I ever tell you that your breasts have developed magnificently?"

"Chairman Netero…!"

"Every single day of my life from age thirteen to eighteen, and every time I see you after that." With the smile still plastered on her face, Midoya gently rotated her jaw to relieve the pressure on her cheeks. "Am I free to go now?"

"No…!"

"Go ahead. There's not much I can do if you want to leave since no charges have been raised against you - yet."

"Sir…!"

"Oh, I'm sure you can think of something." Still moving her jaw subtly, Midoya smiled at her old teacher then turned and headed for the heavy doors of the Chairman's office. "See you around, sensei, Beans." Perhaps not for a while, she admitted to herself. Not until Kuroro's curse was lifted and…

Abruptly the door slammed open almost hitting her in the nose and a beautiful blonde boy rushed into the room.

* * *

><p>In hindsight, Kurapika had to admit that simply bursting into the Chairman's office was probably not the most polite way to inform the Chairman of his presence. However, he had been flustered by Wing's reaction to him and anxious to meet the infamous Blacklist Hunter Midoya. He had barely been thinking when he walked up to the heavy oak door before him and shoved it open.<p>

The moment he did though, his rational mind decided to come back, along with his ability to feel totally, utterly humiliated.

"Erm…" Kurapika stuttered. He could barely raise his eyes to look at the old man sitting at the far end of the room with one bushy eyebrow raised. "Good day… sir," he finally managed to say.

"Good day," Netero replied, sounding more amused than offended. "You are Kurapika, are you not? I remember you were from the last round of exams… or was it the last, last rounds? My memory is not what it is these days."

"Yes sir, I am a recent graduate from the exams," Kurapika mumbled. With an awkward cough, he took in a deep breath and raised his eyes to meet the Chairman's. "I apologize for bursting in so abruptly. I hope you will forgive me."

"Not a problem," Netero said, sounding kind and gentle. "Is there a reason you came in like that?"

Was there? Oh right. "I wished to meet the hunter who brought Kuroro Lucifer in," he said eagerly. "I heard she was with you and was hoping you could introduce me to her." Was he too late? Had she already left? "I understand it is very rude of me to presume you will have the time to entertain my unreasonable request but…"

Netero held up a hand, interrupting him and nodded understandingly. "That's not a difficult request, boy. She's right next to you."

Startled for the second time in under an hour, Kurapika's eyes flickered in the direction Netero was pointing at. Immediately, he leapt backwards, trying desperately to suppress a horrified sound.

Wing's description of an immature, irresponsible and evil pervert had given him the impression of a tall, beautiful Valkyrie of a woman, scantily-dressed with seductive eyes and dark smoky laughs. The woman next to him looked nothing like that. For one thing, she was short, even shorter than Kurapika, and plump, not quite obese but half way there. Her hair was a wild, frizzy mess of curls of indeterminate length. Her skin was extraordinarily pale and her face was marred with severe acne. Though she was dressed in a conservative black dress, her eyes were painted a brilliant peacock blue. There was a smile on her face, but it wasn't a friendly smile. It looked… wrong. Kurapika realized why; her smile didn't move. Genuine smiles always moved with the micro-expressions on a person's face; they shift, widen or fade continuously with the fluctuations of emotions. The smile beaming down at him was frozen, static, like a clown's painted face. For a moment, Kurapika thought that was the most disturbing thing about this woman looking at him. He realized he was wrong.

It was her eyes. Black, eerily calm eyes looking at him with interest, like a lazy, sated tiger wondering if the tiny bunny skipping past would make a good plaything. Black eyes filled with knowledge, intelligence and an utter lack of emotion, conscience or morality. Déjà vu. Kurapika's jaw clenched. Kuroro Lucifer had looked at him _exactly like that_.

"You were looking for me?" a feminine, soft voice asked, demure, quiet but firm with authority and confidence.

Kurapika shook his thoughts of that _night_ off (he wasn't a bunny, this woman wasn't Kuroro Lucifer and _he_ wasn't a woman no matter what that bastard said _damn it_). "Yes," he said quickly, offering a nod. "My name is Kurapika. You must be Two Star Blacklist Hunter Midoya."

"Indeed, I may be her," the woman known as Midoya acknowledged, tilting her head as she observed him. "Why are you looking for me?"

"I…" Suddenly, it struck Kurapika that they were still standing in the doorway to the Chairman's office with both the Chairman and his secretary watching them. "It's a long story," he said. "Perhaps we can sit somewhere while I explain myself?"

"Of course," Midoya agreed. "The cafeteria here serves the most disgusting coffee, so it is always empty. I'm sure we can find a seat there."

"Yes, of course." Turning to face Netero, Kurapika offered a slight bow. "Good day to you, sir. Thank you for your patience."

"Not an issue," Netero replied.

"Bye, sensei," Midoya chirped with so much cheer it bordered on maniac, and Kurapika blinked. Was this woman Netero's student? It… explained a lot.

"Goodbye, Midoya," Netero replied with almost as much cheer. Then in a much more serious voice, "Be gentle to the child."

Kurapika blinked. Midoya's smile became even more maniacal. "But of course, sensei," she purred, suddenly reminding him a lot more of Hisoka than Kuroro, "I'll be… gentle." Still beaming that frozen, too-wide smile, she turned and left the room.

Hesitantly, Kurapika met Netero's eyes in question. Netero looked back at him gravely. "If she offers to have sex with you, don't accept it, no matter what your hormones tell you," the old man said sternly.

Horrified and flustered, Kurapika managed a brisk bow before fleeing.

* * *

><p>Despite his longer legs and apparent fitter physique, it surprisingly took Kurapika quite a while to catch up with the departing woman. She had actually descended two flights of stairs, walking with a feline grace made jarring by her plump appearance, before he finally caught up, flashing a much more natural and genuine smile at him when he did. "Did dear Netero warn you against the evil cannibal you are about to have coffee with?' she asked whimsically.<p>

"Uh…" Kurapika felt his cheeks redden and tried to pretend it was due to the tremendous exertion of running down a short corridor and two flights of stairs, "He warned me about you, just not about… uh… cannibalism."

"Ah, about sex then." Midoya shook her head sadly. "Really now, that Netero. I have only killed one person in bed before, and it wasn't even because he wasn't that great in bed. The person was an assassin sent to kill me. Of course I killed him. What did Netero expect?"

"Maybe he expected you to _arrest_ him instead of killing him," Kurapika replied just a little more sharply than he had intended to.

Midoya glanced at him with a lop-sided smile on her face. "It was a little difficult. He was in me and holding a knife barely an inch from my eye. There wasn't enough leverage for wrestling, much less handcuffs. I didn't have much of a choice. It was between tearing his neck out with my teeth or letting him stab me in the eye."

Kurapika opened his mouth to retort, suddenly realised what she meant by "in me", and found his mouth clamping shut from sheer embarrassment instead. "I do not have to respond to that," he said instead, trying to look dignified and matured about… about… ("_sex_", his conscience whispered in a scandalized hiss).

"Of course you don't," Midoya replied, her smile widening. "You said your name is Kurapika, isn't that so?"

"Yes, that is my name."

"Well Kurapika, why don't you start telling me what you need from me as we walk to the cafeteria?"

For a moment, Kurapika considered walking away. He had heard rumours about this Blacklist Hunter before, some of them good, some of them bad, and he usually felt most of it was largely exaggerated. The real person however, proved that at least some of the rumours were true. It wasn't hard seeing what Wing meant by immoral, irresponsible and… and… _sexual perversion_. On the other hand, Kurapika had known enough hunters by now to understand that personality had little to do with power. If this woman had information about the powers of the Ryodan members… Kurapika gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. For his dead friends and family, he would sacrifice his pride and… _speak_ with this woman.

"Yes, thank you for listening to me," he said stiffly. "As you know, my name is Kurapika. I am of the Kuruta clan." He watched her nod. She didn't look surprised. Maybe she had already heard about him from Netero. "If you know of the Kuruta clan then you must know that the clan is… extinct. I am the last survivor as far as I know. We were killed by the Genei Ryodan… killed for our eyes."

"Scarlet Eyes," Midoya murmured.

"That is correct." A sense of relief flooded his chest; he was so happy he did not have to explain that. It always reminded him of his dead comrades… their empty eye sockets… "I am hunting the Genei Ryodan."

"A dangerous hobby," Midoya commented, her lips quirking in a smile.

Kurapika stopped walking. "It's not a hobby!" he said hotly. "It is revenge! I will kill the Genei Ryodan, destroy them for what they did, even if it costs me my life!" He gritted his teeth as he felt his eyes start to flood with red. Not here… not now… not to a powerful member of the Hunter circle…

"Of course. My apologies. I did not mean to make light of your life goals. Please forgive me." She sounded absolutely sincere, even concerned. Gently, she laid a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Inhale. Exhale. "I'm fine," Kurapika muttered, suddenly unable to meet her eyes. He really had not meant to explode like that and the concern she was now showing him was… embarrassing him. "It's fine. Forget it. You don't know anything about me; I can hardly expect you to know what matters to me."

"Still, I apologize."

"It's fine!" Kurapika awkwardly but gently extracted his shoulder from under her hand. "It's fine." Another deep breath in… another deep breath out. "I heard you have fought the Ryodan before. Twice."

The amused smile that was almost a smirk, but not quite, came back. "Yes, I have," she acknowledged. "Once, two years ago, and another time more recently. You may have heard of how I failed utterly to secure Kuroro Lucifer? Yes, I see you have. It was the most stunning failure of my career. I'll probably need to hunt down a good dozen A-list criminals just to wipe that stain off my reputation."

"Is it that bad a failure? I heard…" Kurapika cleared his throat. "I heard you… _unmanned _him."

"Unmanned? Oh. Oh, yes, if you meant I _castrated_ him then yes you are right." She chuckled, a soft, almost inaudible laugh. "I thought it was amusing."

Amusing? Not exactly the word Kurapika would have used, but still… "I thank you," he said firmly. "Kuroro Lucifer is my enemy. Any harm inflicted on him rebalances this injustice done to my tribe."

Her smile widened. "You are most welcome, dear. Take a seat."

Kurapika looked around in surprise. He hadn't realized they had reached the cafeteria already. In that moment, it struck him how unexpectedly charismatic Midoya was. While he was walking next to her, all his attention had been drawn to and fixed on her. It was so strange to find such charisma in one as… unattractive as her. Not that Kurapika was superficial or anything… he just hadn't expected this annoying, rather plain and boring-looking woman to be so… magnetic.

As Midoya had predicted, the cafeteria was largely deserted, except for small pockets of people here and there. The smell of stale food and coffee lingered in the air, making him feel slightly nauseous. But the seats were clean – probably because no one used them.

"Thank you," Kurapika said, sinking onto a grey, metal seat.

"You are welcome," Midoya replied. "Wait here; I'll get some hot water. I always carry tea satchels with me when I come to HQ. We shall have something pleasant to drink at least."

"Thank you," Kurapika said bemused, as she put an entire box of tea satchels on the table before him. "Let me get the…" he began but she was already gone.

* * *

><p>"Two cups of hot water," Midoya said at the counter. The dear man behind the counter took one look at her, shrieked, and ducked behind the counter.<p>

"Hot water is there! Take whatever you want! Just don't hurt me!"

"A fair trade," Midoya agreed and slid over the counter. Ignoring the quivering, whimpering man curled up in a foetal position on the floor (he did that every time she came by; she really had no idea why; she only blew up his stall once and it was purely an accident caused by her inexperience with Nen), she examined the various containers at the back of the stall before finding the vacuum flask that contained heated water.

As she decanted some water into the two cleanest cups she could find, Midoya thought back on the lovely blonde child waiting for her in the cafeteria. A smile spread over her face. Kuroro was right; the boy was absolutely _adorable_. Such a sense of justice, such high morals… goodness, Midoya just wanted to pinch his little baby cheeks. Moralistic people were really just too funny, kind of like puppies barking at their own reflection.

It was also extremely obvious what the dear boy wanted from her: information on the Ryodan. Midoya pursed her lips as she wondered just how much she should reveal to the little darling. Of course, the rational thing to do would be to keep her alliance with Kuroro a secret. It wouldn't do if the little sweetie told Netero; she would have to kill the dear boy, and wouldn't she feel so guilty killing the last survivor of the Kuruta clan (or maybe not; it's not like she knew about the Kuruta clan before Kuroro told her about them anyway). Anyway, she was sure Netero would not appreciate knowing she was currently helping the evil leader of the Genei Ryodan regain his powers. It wasn't like she could help it; Kuroro had _asked for help_. Of course she had to help. That's what nice people do. Dear Netero wouldn't understand of course; he felt that Hunters should only help people who actually deserve it, as if Hunters have the right to decide who was worthy or not. Midoya certainly didn't trust herself to know for sure. Besides, unworthy humans were still human, no? At any rate, Netero probably wouldn't think much of her helping Kuroro. So, that would have to be a secret from the dear boy. Common sense really, but Midoya always liked articulating her thoughts clearly.

The question of course was how much she should reveal about the _other_ Ryodan members. That was the iffy bit. Kuroro had mentioned that the little baby had some knowledge of the powers of the Ryodan members, so lying would be dangerous. If what she said differed too much from what the boy knew, he might be able to guess she was invested in keeping the Ryodan alive and well. The dear sweetie had managed to trump Kuroro once; that was surely a clear measure of his intelligence. On the other hand, Midoya was pretty certain Kuroro would not appreciate her telling the dear little thing about his Ryodan members. There was already one dead member after all. Sweet little baby had such a nasty bite; just think of what he could do with more knowledge. The best thing to do in such a situation, Midoya mused, was to feign ignorance. However, the details of her fight were already well-known. No one would believe her if she claimed she fought the Ryodan members, defeated three of them, and _never got to see any of their powers_.

Ah, decisions, decisions, decisions. Midoya smiled as she picked the cups up and slid back over the counter without spilling a single drop. This was far from the hardest decision she had ever had to make, but perhaps also the most fun. She wondered how far she could push the boy till he discovered something was wrong with her. Probably not very far, given that stubborn idealistic personality and brilliant mind. Goodness, that cute little sense of justice… he probably believed in the _value of chastity_ as well.

Midoya wiped the smile off her face as she approached the blonde boy and schooled her face into a mask of maternal affection.

"Here you go," she said, pushing the cup of hot water in front of him. "Just drop a tea bag in."

"Thank you," Kurapika said, standing up and _waiting for her to sit. _

Goodness. Chivalrous too. He needed to be friends with dear little Pepeka. The two of them would get along fabulously. Pepeka needed some friends anyway; dear boy hardly talked to anyone but her and surely that was not good for a child's social development. Oh wait, Pepeka wasn't a teenager anymore, was he? How old was Pepeka anyway? The last she checked, he was fifteen, but surely that was some… time ago. Midoya tended to forget. Time was such a flexible concept after all.

Smiling sweetly at the dear little blonde child, Midoya slid onto the surprisingly clean chair. "You remind me of my disciple," she informed him. "All sweetness and good manners."

"Thank you," Kurapika repeated, his tone brisk and business-like. "I'm sure your disciple is a very pleasant person to be around."

Nope. "Yes, he is an absolute darling," Midoya agreed, sipping at the tea. "Now, where were we? Oh yes, castrating Kuroro Lucifer."

She watched the conflict skitter across the lovely face with the beautiful blue-green eyes and rosebud lips. "Is it… is it true you used a pair of nail scissors to… to castrate him?" the boy finally whispered hopefully with a look of shame on his face.

Awww. How cute. He was feeling guilty about wishing the worst on his enemies. Midoya smiled around the rim of the cup and wondered how she should reply. Should she make this little baby happy, or should she make Kuroro happy? Well, given that Kuroro had pretty much said he didn't trust her after she went out of her way to pluck his lovely ass off a plateau… "No," she finally replied. "It wasn't a pair of nail scissors."

"Oh." The dear boy looked _so_ crestfallen.

"It was a nail file."

Those pretty green eyes widened. "Nail… _file_?" he asked, horrified. "Is that… is that even possible?"

"Oh yes. It just requires a lot of patience and a strong stomach. I lost my knife somewhere along the chase. Fortunately I had my manicure kit with me. The nail clipper didn't work because it was too small, so the nail file it was. It took an awful long time because my nail file isn't made of metal; it's made of plastic and sandpaper. Made a bloody mess too, but it was worth it what that bastard made me go through just to capture him." In truth, Midoya was thinking of a different 'bastard' that she _had_ castrated with a nail file. He deserved it too, for cheating on her.

"Sandpaper." Now the dear boy looked both horrified and guiltily satisfied at the same time. "It must have hurt."

"I wouldn't know. You might have to ask Kuroro Lucifer yourself."

"One day I will," the boy muttered. The faintest shade of red glowed around his eyes before fading. Lovely. It might be worth it provoking him till his eyes glow the shade of red so beautiful that Kuroro Lucifer massacred his entire tribe just to obtain it.

"Good for you, child," Midoya replied, beaming. "Now, is there anything else you wish to know other than the method I used to castrate dear Kuroro Lucifer?"

"Yes," Kurapika said, eyes wide with an emotion Midoya wasn't able to identify. "I want to know how you chased him down."

Ah ha. Time for more story-makings.

* * *

><p>Being the youth that he was and what with the tragedy of his past, Kurapika had never had a chance to meet girls and do the normal things boys of his age do. Hence, he was rather inexperienced when it came to the birds and the bees, and all those things people hear are on television and are corrupting the moral fibre of our youths. However, at that moment, Kurapika was pretty certain that if he ever fell in a love with a woman, it would be one like Midoya.<p>

Yes, he was put off by her amorality. Yes, he was put off by the crazy clown-smile on her face. Yes, he was put off by her sexual openness. Yes, he was put off by the thick layer of make-up on her face. But she _castrated_ Kuroro 'The Bastard' Lucifer. She _castrated_ HIM with a _nail file_. Kurapika could not think of a more beautiful trait in a woman than that. (His conscience squeaked indignantly with horror at that and scolded Kurapika into flushing with guilt and shame.)

Still, despite her many flaws, this Blacklist Hunter Midoya was surely a good person beneath it all. As a blacklist hunter, she had made it her duty to rid the world of evil criminals like the Genei Ryodan. Surely that proved she wasn't as immoral as the rumours said. Besides, she was kind enough to sit with him and share her experiences with him. That surely proved that she wished to nurture the next generation of Blacklist Hunters that will carry on her duty of righting injustices in the world. She had a disciple too, didn't she? That was evidence that she was an educator, and only people who wished to help others became educators. Definitely, Kurapika felt, she was a good person beneath it all.

"Now," Midoya (_Miss_ Midoya, his manners, having affirmed that this was a woman worth respecting, corrected) said, smiling gently at him, "is there anything else you wish to know… other than the method I used to castrate dear Kuroro Lucifer?"

Turning admiring eyes on her, Kurapika said, "Yes. I want to know how you chased him down."

Midoya smiled that enigmatic smile she had as she sipped more tea. She looked like she was thinking, but Kurapika could not tell what she was thinking. Perhaps she was merely reliving that wonderful moment when she had finally caught Kuroro Lucifer (who was, undoubtedly, on the wanted list of _any_ blacklist hunter with a sense of morality), perhaps she was merely organising her thoughts to better tell her story. Kurapika could hardly wait.

"It's rather anti-climatic," she finally said with an apologetic smile. "I'm afraid he didn't put up much of a fight. It was almost like he couldn't."

Yes, of course. Kurapika glowed faintly with pride at that. "But you said he put you through a lot before you caught him."

"Oh yes, he did. Turns out this Kuroro Lucifer is quite a sneaky man. Horribly, horribly sneaky."

Damn right he was, that devious, sneaky, arrogant _mass_ murderer… "What did he do?"

Midoya played with the tea satchel in her cup and smiled. "Well, I found him in the deserts near York Shin. Are you familiar with the area? It's actually more accessible by blimp than by car."

"Yes, I am familiar with the area."

"Oh good. At any rate, I found him, stuck on top of a plateau as it happens." Kurapika choked on his tea. "For some reason, he couldn't jump off the plateau or fly off, or however it is the infamous Dancho of the Genei Ryodan travels. I happened to have been flying overhead in a blimp and I spotted him. It's quite remarkable how visible fur coats in a desert are from the sky. Anyway, I dropped down to catch him. There's quite a lovely bounty on his head as you know."

"What happened next?" Kurapika asked, still distracted by the idea that he had stranded Kuroro Lucifer on a plateau and _hadn't realised it_.

"He offered to have sex with me."

A gush of tea erupted from Kurapika's mouth and Midoya calmly dodged it, still sipping tea from her own cup. "H… he what?" Kurapika demanded once his lungs have expelled the tea he had accidentally inhaled.

"He offered to have sex with me," Midoya repeated, looking amused by his reaction.

"That is… that is… horrible! D… did you…?"

"Oh, it was extremely tempting. Have you met the man? He is extraordinarily good looking, all dark eyes and pale skin and washboard abs. And his voice is so smoky and seductive. One can only imagine how he would sound when reaching the peak of…"

"No!" Kurapika interrupted loudly, hands pressed firmly to his ears. "I do not want to hear anything about that man and his peaks of… peaks of… peaks… of…. _Peaks_." He lowered his hands and glared fiercely at Midoya. "Tell me you did not take him up on his offer or I will lose any respect I have ever had for you."

Midoya laughed out loud and Kurapika's face heated up with anger. "I did not take him up on his offer," she said, grinning. "For all I know, his ability is to kill during sex. He's good looking, but really not to die for."

"Right." Now Kurapika's cheeks were red with embarrassment. What had he been thinking? Midoya was a Two Star hunter; of course she wouldn't be dumb enough to fall for a trap like that. "I apologize."

"Nothing to apologize for, dear. Now, where did I stop? Oh yes, he offered to have sex with me. I told him no and he just stood there staring at me. I did not dare to approach him since I have heard he is a very powerful Nen user and I did not want to underestimate him."

"That is the smart thing to do," Kurapika admitted, half-wishing he could tell her what he had done to Kuroro Lucifer.

"So, we were just staring at each other across the plateau for a while then the oddest thing happened. He _surrendered_ to me. He told me that he was, in fact, trapped and he did not foresee defeating me. So he simply surrendered. I suspected a trap, as you can guess. But he came quietly with me onto my blimp. It was all rather strange." A smile flittered over Midoya's face. "Turns out it was all a trap after all. Once the blimp landed in York Shin, he made a break for it."

"He was successful?"

"Very. I left him with the five guards I always have on my blimp, but he defeated them all and ran off into the wilderness that surrounds the airfield. I was forced to give chase through dense vegetation, muddy grounds (it rained that night apparently) and all manners of squishy, unpleasant stuff. I spoiled my favourite pair of pumps and ruined a new coat."

"How did you catch him in the end?" he asked.

"My powers, which I will not tell you about." She smiled, and now her smile was cold and unfriendly. "It's a trade secret."

"You are not obliged to," Kurapika agreed. In his mind, he checked off the information he had acquired. Kuroro Lucifer was smart, cunning, a powerful fighter even without his Nen and comfortable with moving through natural habitats like the wilderness surrounding the York Shin airfield. The more he learnt about his enemy, the more he detested him. That was good; it meant the rage within him at the injustice against his tribe had not faded.

"So, how would _you_ fare in a fight with Kuroro Lucifer?" She smiled. "You have met him before, haven't you?"

Startled out of his thoughts, Kurapika stared at the woman across him. A chill ran down his back and eyes narrowed. "How do you know I have met him before?" he asked, chains starting to vibrate.

Midoya's eyes widened as she looked at the chains shuddering around his hand like a tangle of snakes. Her eyes flicked back to him, calm, inquisitive, and glowing with _Gyo_. Then she shrugged and put her empty tea cup down. "Because you didn't ask me how he looks like."

The chains stopped vibrating. "What?" he demanded.

"If you were hunting the elusive Genei Ryodan, I would have expected your first question to be how he looks like," she said. "That wasn't your question though; you wanted to know how I managed to catch him, almost like you tried once and failed. I assumed that meant you had encountered him before but he got away."

"Oh." Kurapika forced his shoulders to relax. There was, he supposed, a very thin line between being careful and being paranoid. "Yes, I have encountered him before," he admitted. "He is…" He paused in thought, "Intelligent and unnaturally cool under pressure. Brave, I suppose. I have to give the rat his deal. Immoral, a total bastard. I… I have no idea how I would fare in a fight with him. It wouldn't be easy I suppose." A thoughtful pause then Kurapika asked, "What do _you_ think of him as a person?"

* * *

><p>Oh, the little baby definitely <em>had<em> brains. Midoya put down the empty tea cup and eyed the lovely boy across from her (he could have stepped out of a Shakespearean poem or an Oscar Wilde novel). She hadn't meant to let slip that she knew he had met Kuroro before. She had let her guard down because the dear little thing looked so sweet and innocent sitting across from her and staring at her with those wide eyes. That was rather stupid of her, she had to admit. She had to remember this was the same person who killed Ubogin, who managed to actually trap Kuroro and put a curse on him. Looking at his chains, Midoya could tell that was some Nen; so much rage, so much hatred. There wasn't a lot of finesse to his Nen perhaps, but that would undoubtedly come with age and experience. What he had now though was pretty powerful for a kid who had just learned about Nen a year or so ago.

Now, how was she going to wriggle out of this? She _could_ lure the boy somewhere else and get rid of him quietly. How would she do that though? Sex? Oh wait, at his age, maybe candy would be a better lure. How old was he anyway? Netero did mention he was a teenager. A little too old to be taken in by candy, not that Midoya had any on her at the moment. Maybe porn would be a better lure, since this was a teenage boy she was staring at? Ha, that's amusing, but horribly stereotypical of you, woman. Focus, Midoya, someone's waiting for an answer. Ah wait, maybe…

"Because you didn't ask me how he looks like." Midoya beamed inside at her own brilliance. "If you were hunting the elusive Genei Ryodan, I would have expected your first question to be how he looks like. That wasn't your question though; you wanted to know how I managed to catch him, almost like you tried once and failed. I assumed that meant you had encountered him before but he got away." Oh wait. Wasn't Kuroro's dead face all over the internet for a period of time? Well… no worries; if the little baby caught on to it, she would just lie and said she lived in a cave: me no heard of internal-net, only fishing net. Ook ook, ah ah.

"Oh," Kurapika said, obviously relaxing. Good, he took the bait. "He is… intelligent and unnaturally cool under pressure." True. Kuroro had the emotional fluctuations of a rock, especially when it came to dangerous situations like this. "Brave… I suppose." True again, if the rumours surrounding him are accurate. "Immoral, a total bastard." Very true, but who knew about the bastard bit? Kuroro mentioned once he didn't know who his parents were. "I… I have no idea how I would fare in a fight with him." Not too well, Midoya guessed. "It wouldn't be easy I suppose. What do you think of him as a person?"

Midoya tilted her head in surprise as she regarded the boy. That was an interesting question coming from him. When most people decide to kill another human being, the very first thing they do (assuming they aren't psychopaths or seasoned murderers) is to dehumanize their victims. The most prominent examples could be found in a study of war propaganda. Declare the 'Other' a threat to the community, claim they will rape and murder your wives and daughters, insist that they are somehow morally degenerate sub-humans who do not deserve to live; make like killing them makes You a war hero. It was a cruel practice, but ironically, driven by the fact that most peoples' consciences can't deal with the idea of killing another human being, another person who has family, who has friends, who has feelings. Morality was at the basis of it all, and given how moralistic this boy was, Midoya would have expected him to attempt to dehumanize the Ryodan as much as he can.

"Are you sure you wish to know?" she asked curiously.

"Why wouldn't I want to know?" the boy demanded in a reasonable tone. "Know thy enemy, know thyself. Whatever knowledge you can give me will only help me, not hinder me."

Oh, the dear baby. He had no idea what he was asking for, was he? Midoya clasped her hands together and regarded him thoughtfully. For this entire period, she had been treating the encounter with this boy like a game. However, the game had become a little too serious. Was she going to shake his conviction to kill the Ryodan? Was she going to cause him more pain by pointing out to him that no matter how much he hated the enemy, the enemy _is_ human and that killing the enemy is murder no matter how much he wanted to justify it? Well, she couldn't decide for him now, could she? She had spent enough time mentoring Pepeka to know that sometimes, it is best to let students decide for themselves. The truth, in this case, she realized with a sudden jab of pity, was the best answer.

"My first impression of him when I found him standing on the plateau was anger." She watched those lovely eyes blink in surprise. "Oh, I assure you it was extremely difficult to tell, but I watched him with _Gyo_ and his aura was vibrating with rage." Not quite the truth; Midoya had learned how to read Kuroro during the year he spent with her and she hadn't needed Gyo to realise he was incredibly upset about something. "Something had pissed him off; being stranded on a plateau would do that I suppose. Or perhaps…" Midoya wondered how far she could push this before the boy realized she knew more than she should, "because he was betrayed?" Kuroro had spoken of both Paku's betrayal of the Ryodan and Hisoka's betrayal of all of them. She couldn't tell which bothered him more, though if she had to guess, she would say Paku's. The green eyes were staring at her. She could not read the expression behind them suddenly. Boy had a quite a poker face when he put his mind to it, it seemed. "His Nen expressed hurt too," she explained. "Pain. Grief. It was like an open wound that had been sutured close then torn opened again"

"Pain?" the boy whispered, his voice hoarse. "Grief? What would he know of such things?"

Oh, to not just stab the knife in but twist it as well. Midoya was only glad she had a pretty large streak of sheer, utter meanness. "He's human too, you know," she said. "A bad person, yes. Immoral, cruel and cold, but still human. There must be people he cares for. Things he cares about…"

"Money, expensive items," the boy grounded out. Ah, there was the dehumanization process now. "Profits. His own welfare. His own well-being."

"I disagree," Midoya said quietly. Damn if she felt a little sorry for poor Kuroro that people actually thought he was nothing more than a greedy bastard. There was so much complexity to an amoral genius like Kuroro that reducing him to a mere manifestation of evil capitalism was quite the sin against humanity in Midoya's opinion.

"Why?" the voice came out in a painful, hurt hiss.

"I asked him where the rest of the Ryodan was, tried to torture it out of him as a matter of fact. Did you get the chance to do the same to him? Well, I can tell you this, he refused to say a word. Why do you think I castrated him in the first place?" Midoya's mind continued spinning more lies as she joined her knowledge of what happened in York Shin with the rest of little lies she had spun previously. "Truth be told, it was hardly as satisfying as I claimed previously. He didn't even squeak. How much determination do you think that needed?" There, that was for you, Kuroro; a little of your dignity restored.

Abruptly, the boy's eyes were red. Midoya stared. They weren't as pretty as she had hoped; if anything, they just looked confused… sad. They looked like a child who had felt pain for the first time and couldn't explain why it was happening to him. "Why are you defending him?" the boy grounded out between gritted teeth. "He's a criminal! A murderer!"

"Even murderers are human, boy," Midoya told him with gentle harshness. "You can't pretend he isn't. If you ever kill him, you must recognize that you are killing another human being. If you are just going to pretend he's nothing more than a dangerous animal that needs to be put down, you aren't accepting the full consequences of your actions." The boy's head jerked back like he had been slapped. Was this enough? Well, if he had enough, he would probably start screaming at her. She will just continue till he did. "If he dies by your hand, there will be people who mourn his passing. His friends perhaps, his colleagues, the other members of the Genei Ryodan. And fans. Believe it or not, the Genei Ryodan, like every other legendary, mythical group out there, actually has fans; crazy people who create websites speculating about how the members look like, claiming they are members, insisting they are _married_ to members. Even I might mourn his passing." The boy's head jerked again, this time in shock. "It is not every day I find prey as exciting and challenging as this. As a Hunter, I would be quite sad to lose the opportunity to hunt him." Midoya smiled as tenderly as she could at the child staring coldly at her with eyes full of tears that refused to fall. "Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" she asked gently.

At first, the boy didn't reply. His mouth parted. Hesitantly, he licked his lips then closed his mouth. Midoya eyed him with an intense stare. The boy took an inaudible breath in and said, "I…"

And that was when all hell broke loose.

* * *

><p>The explosion could not have come at a more opportune time.<p>

If it wasn't enough that this woman was _lecturing_ him about his vengeance, she had to treat him like a _child_, like he was ignorant and didn't know what he was doing. Of course he knew what he was doing. Of course he did… right? No, there was no doubt; he was just… confused by what she was saying. What was she trying to say anyway? Was she trying to say… Well yes, of course Kuroro Lucifer and the Ryodan members could feel pain. Of course he knew that. They were fully functioning macro-organisms; undoubtedly they had a proper nervous system, perhaps mutated by their Nen, but surely capable of feeling pain, which is an important sensation that tells the body when it is in danger. Why was she harping on about it?

"Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" she asked suddenly, her voice soft… caring. Something clenched at his chest and tore away at his anger at her. She sounded… kind. He hadn't heard anyone speak to him like this in a while.

Kurapika's throat joined his chest with a painful spasm. Did he understand what she was saying? He didn't know. Her words grated on his nerves like nails on a chalkboard, but her tone was… concerned, motherly, soothing, like a cold towel on a heated face. Was he supposed to respond to her words or her tone? He had no idea. But she was staring at him, staring at him so intensely. She expected a reply. Kurapika licked his lips and drew in a deep breath. "I…" he began hesitantly. I what?

Fortunately, at that moment, the far wall of the cafeteria exploded in a roar of flames, concrete and burning organic bits. Startled, Kurapika leapt to his feet, staring at the wall of flame coming towards them at an alarming rate. "Watch out!" he shouted, making a move to grab the woman who hadn't even turned to look.

Her eyes met his. They were calm, amused, and dark as a black hole. Because he was right in front of her, he felt it when her Nen swelled and… _good lord_… Her Nen wrapped around the both of them, a heavy pressure that shoved him roughly onto the table. It was like being wrapped under layers of thick rugs then thrown under water with an anchor wrapped around him. His breath came in pained, desperate gasps, and his body shook with the weakness coursing through his veins.

Fire roared around them. The heat was a tangible thing, burning his throat when he inhaled, deafening him with a thunder that he felt to the bones. Wind whipped his outfit around roughly, threatening to tear him off the table and drag him into the inferno raging around them. In the confusion, Kurapika thought he might have screamed. He wasn't sure; he was never the screaming sort, but then he had never been trapped in an explosion like this before. There was always a first time for everything.

Then it was over. The pressure on him lifted and Kurapika inhaled deeply before choking on the acrid smoke around him. Coughing and gasping, he lifted his head and looked around. The entire cafeteria was a mess. Tables and chairs were now tiny bits of metal scattered around. Walls were black and scorched. The whole area smelled like how Kurapika always imagined hell would smell; of fire and burning flesh. Groaning, Kurapika lifted himself off the table, the only one that had survived the explosion and looked at the woman in front of him.

She was still sitting in the same position, a lipstick tube in one hand and mirror in another as she applied a slick of something pink and wet-looking on her lips. "Ah. You're back. Feeling better?" she asked as he wobbled to his feet.

"Uh," Kurapika mumbled because there were some things he just had no response for. "Whuh…?"

She checked her lips in the mirror and smoothed out the edge of her lips before giving a satisfied nod. "Take your time recovering," she suggested, dropping her lipstick and mirror into the purse on her lap. "Not too long though. I strongly suspect we are under attack from unknown forces."

Wiping sweat out of his eyes, Kurapika thought about that for a confused second. "Kuroro Lucifer?" he asked weakly.

The now pink and glossy lips pursed in thought. "Highly unlikely," she said. "What good would an attack on HQ do to him? He barely got away the last time he was here."

That was true. Kuroro Lucifer didn't have his Nen; there was no reason for him to put himself at risk by attacking the Hunters' Association HQ. If his brain wasn't so fried, Kurapika would have seen that earlier. Trying to shake it back into working condition, Kurapika straightened up and looked at the mess around them again. "We need to check for casualties," he said shakily. "If we are under attack, we need to fight back too."

"Ahead of you, dear boy." Smiling, she pulled out a phone and pressed a number. "Hello? Is Netero around?" He watched her brows furrow slightly in a frown. "How long ago did he leave? Ah. The attackers must have waited for him to go before starting the attack. He is too far away to be of any help by now. Are any of the Zodiacs around? I know some came down when they heard Kuroro Lucifer was here. Ah. Excellent. I'll contact her as soon as I take a look around." She stood up and nodded at him to follow her. "Anyone figured out the identity of the attackers yet? No? Hmm. Casualties? That's not too bad considering how big the explosion was and how few people in the building actually know Nen. How many guards and hunters do we have in the base? Ah. I see. Why so few? Oh. Okay. Never mind. And no hunters at all? Goodness me. Well, I have one hunter with me, the dear boy you met just now. I'll go take a look around with him. I'll speak with you later, Beans." A pause then a wicked smile flittered over her face. "I'll try my best, dear, but who knows what I have to do to avoid more casualties? Goodbye." Chuckling, she hung up and looked at Kurapika.

"What is it?" he asked, though he could guess from her side of the conversation.

"A long story short; we don't know who is attacking the HQ, but whoever is in charge of this is very smart. They waited till Netero left the building along with the guards and hunters he had brought along when he first heard Kuroro Lucifer was free in the building. The York Shin HQ of the Hunters' Association does not necessarily have the best trained guards because there is no point to it; the mafia pretty much runs this city, and Netero is happy to let them do so as long as they do not cross certain boundaries." She pressed the tips of her fingers together in thought. "Fortunately, as the attack came after the building emptied, casualties have been kept to a minimum. Twenty people, dead, injured or missing. I promised Beans I'll go take a look." She smiled at him. "Well you help?"

Kurapika nodded immediately. "Of course," he said.

"Good." Midoya nodded in return. "On me then." Without waiting for him, she turned and strode for the exit.

Taken by surprise, Kurapika followed her. She had a swift gait, gliding over the marble floors with a grace that was entirely at odds with her short, plump appearance. But her gait was different from previously. When she had walked to the cafeteria, her gait had been fast too, but it had also been relaxed, casual, as if she had a goal in mind but did not care if she reached it or not. This was different; this was focused, alert… _predatory_. She was on a hunt.

They stepped into the corridor and stepped in chaos. Kurapika looked around and frowned. He had thought the building was in chaos when he had first reached. He was wrong. What he had seen previously had been contained chaos; people knew that there was a mess in front of them, but there was no direct threat. People felt safe, felt in control. What he was looking at now was truly chaos. People were running about frantically, not just guards and hunters, but the numerous clerks and secretaries the Hunter Association hires. Some people lay on the ground, injured. Others were trying to drag them to safety away from the panicked mob. A young man fell, crying out as he was stomped on by the frightened mob. Someone screamed in pain further down the corridor. Kurapika had seen scenes like this before, during the auction when the Genei Ryodan had struck. However, the difference was that the mafia had been, ironically, far more organized ("That's why they are called _organized_ crime," Gon's voice said with childish reason in his head and he smiled despite himself.). They had anticipated the attack, knew it was coming, and knew how to deal with it, even if they failed. None of the people here had thought the Hunter HQ would be attacked in such a manner.

Kurapika gritted his teeth. With the mob as frightened and as panicked as it was, there was no way anyone could control them, no one to stop them from hurting themselves…

Next to him, Midoya took a deep breath and snapped, "Everyone stop moving." She didn't raise her voice; she didn't need to. The entire corridor froze; even Kurapika froze, in response to the sheer authority in her voice. Midoya folded her arms and looked down the corridor, the expression on her face letting everyone know how _ridiculous_ she thought they were being. "There are injured people on the floor. You, you and you; start getting the non-injured administration staff together and move the injured people to the forty-seventh floor where the conference room is." The three people she had pointed at leapt into action, their faces filled with confusion and relief. "Don't take the lifts; use the stairs. We're only a few floors down so it shouldn't be an issue." Midoya strode forward and looked at the nearest guard who quailed under her stare. "You. Report."

"Uh…" The guard scrambled to stand at attention. "Yes Ma'am! We were attacked five minutes ago, Ma'am! There was an explosion that came from the cafeteria. It swept through the entire corridor. Luckily not many people were in the corridor; most of us were in the offices and the fire didn't enter the rooms. Then erm… uh… we tried looking for the source, but uh… a lot of people were running about and uh… we kind of… no one told us what to do and…" He faltered, giving Midoya a guilty look.

"I see," Midoya said with a brisk nod. "How many guards are here?" Through the crowd milling about, a couple of hands raised. "Five. Six, including you. Right." She looked at the guard next to her again. "Who's in charge of your squad?"

"Erm… me… Ma'am."

"Excellent, Squad Leader. Gather your men together and provide protection for the people going to the conference room. Are you in contact with other guard squads?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Good. Get them to gather the injured and the unarmed, and bring them to the conference room. For those who, for whatever reason, cannot make it to the conference room, tell them to find the nearest safe room and hole up in there till this is over. If they are in any immediate danger from the intruders or the fire, contact me and the squad nearest to their location immediately and we will go assist them. And try to get some idea of what is happening."

"Yes, Ma'am!"

Kurapika stared, impressed, as the people around him leapt into action. Their faces still carried traces of fear and confusion, but they also looked focused and relieved. That reminded him. "Do you need me to help the guards?" he asked. "They do not seem to have much knowledge of Nen in general. If they are attacked, they might have difficulty fending off the attackers."

Midoya smiled at him. "It is kind of you to offer, but they will have to do by themselves. You're with me, dear. We're going to find out what is happening." Her phone rang. Her ringtone was the children's nursery rhyme _Ring a Ring of Posies_. Kurapika wondered if she knew that song had been about the Black Plague. He suspected she did. "Hello? Ah, I was just about to call you, Cheadle-san. I assume you are in command now? Excellent. Hmm? Yes, a wall in Netero's office can be slid open to reveal security footage of the entire building. Could you… Oh. I see. And you can't see anything? Right. Yes, I was the one who told the guards what to do. I hope you don't mind. The conference room is a fairly big room and quite easy to defend, so I thought it was a good idea. Ah, yes, I heard we are the only two high-level hunters in this building. That is not a very happy situation, if I do say so myself." Midoya pursed her lips and held out a finger to Kurapika to indicate that he was to wait. "Yes, I believe that is a fair division of work. It was my intention to hunt down the intruders myself anyway, redeem myself of the ah… previous incident today. I'll update you when I can. Goodbye."

"So there's someone in command now," Kurapika commented as she hung up.

"Yes," Midoya agreed, smiling widely. "Cheadle-san is a brilliant woman, and an excellent tactical general. We can leave her in control of the situation. In the meantime, our job, as I mentioned earlier, is to hunt down the intruders and stop them from causing more damage to the HQ." Her eyes met his and her smile turned feral. "I assume you are up for this, rookie."

Kurapika felt his jaw set. He had never cared what others said of him, but he was still a prideful man, and any doubts about his ability _stung_. "Of course," he said firmly.

"Good," Midoya purred, her smile widening with approval. "Let's go hunt down these bad, bad people then. Ah, isn't this fun? It reminds me so much of my youth spent in the savannahs of Gunk. Blood and death everywhere, and not a single drop of anything pleasant to drink. The water, I tell you, was filthy with corpses. But that's just an old woman reminiscing about her past. Let's get started. This is going to be a long, long day…"

* * *

><p>East Wing Guard was hiding in a janitor's closet when the metaphorical shit came down.<p>

When East Wing Guard first applied for a job as a guard in the Hunter's Association HQ, he had expected it to be a relatively pleasant and easy job. After all, who would be dumb enough to try something stupid in the Hunter's Association HQ? Undoubtedly, everyone was scared enough of Netero, so no one would dare attack the Hunter's Association HQ. In that case, being a guard in the HQ simply meant standing around with a gun looking menacing for a couple of hours before heading back to the mess room to have a coffee or play some cards with the rest of the guards. It sounded like the ideal job for East Wing Guard, who didn't ask much of life, and so expected life to not ask too much of him.

Hence, when the front of the HQ suddenly exploded in a burst of flames, shrapnel, body parts and, for the strangest reason, brilliant red fireworks, the first thing East Wing Guard did was hide in a closet. It was only while sitting among the brooms and pails did he realize his mistake. Yes, the HQ was quite frankly impenetrable what with being guarded by some of the most powerful Hunters of all times. That meant that whoever did decide to attack the HQ was _more powerful than all of these Hunters combined_.

Fortunately, though East Wing Guard was not terribly powerful as guards go, he was still capable of some basic Nen. Using Zetsu, he had been able to avoid detection by the crazy bastards attacking the HQ. All he got was a vague impression of blackness and fur (a giant cat maybe?) before a lone figure had glided past, leaving a trail of blood and guts in his (her?) wake.

Even after the intruder had left, East Wing Guard continued to sit in the closet. It was time, he decided, to ponder upon his future, and the closet was a wonderfully quiet and safe place to do so. One of the great things about working for the Hunter's Association (other than the easy job) was job stability. Given how established the organization was and how powerful the people behind it were, the organization had become quite immune to little things like economic crises and all the other little things that came with that (downsizing etc). Anyone being hired by the Hunter's Association could expect to have a job for life, unless he was so bad at his job people actually noticed.

Then this Genei Ryodan guy got loose in the building. Not only did he escape from the One-Who-Must-Never-Be-Named-In-Case-She-Takes-Notice, there were rumours that he stole something from the HQ, though no one knew exactly what it was. And now? The HQ had gone up in flames, attacked and brought to its knees by unknown intruders. The stocks for the Hunter Association had dropped dramatically over the past hour (East Wing Guard peeked at his phone; yup, that was another point down). The ship was sinking and it was definitely time to jump overboard.

"… _anyone… there?"_ East Wing Guard looked at the walkie-talkie on his lap and briefly considered picking it up. _"… fire in Office A… help not… claws…."_. Or not. He did feel sorry for the poor soul screaming into the walkie-talkie, but what could East Wing Guard do even if he went over? He would just get killed trying to help a, probably, already dead person. It was safer and smarter to just stay in this closet and…

The closet door flew open and a powerful hand gripped his collar. With a shrill scream, East Wing Guard was yanked out of the dark closet into the burning corridor. Wailing and begging for mercy as the heat from the flames scorched his skin and throat, East Wing Guard shut his eyes tightly and waited for the end to come.

"Are you a guard?" a feminine voice asked.

Startled, East Wing Guard opened his eyes and peered at the person standing before him. Immediately, he screamed and shut his eyes again. It could not be… of all the people… it was the One-Who-Must-Never-Be-Named-In-Case-She-Takes-Notice! "Please! Please don't kill me!" he screamed, throwing his arms in front of his face to protect it.

"Why does everyone you run into say that to you?" a slightly more masculine voice asked.

"I honestly have no idea," the One-Who-Must-Never-Be Named said, sounding genuinely puzzled.

That his head had not been removed from his neck yet sent a tiny ray of hope through East Wing Guard's body, and he opened his eyes to peer at the painted face of the creature before him. "Puh… puh… please…" he begged weakly.

"Please what?" the horrid pink lips asked, twisting slightly in a grimace. "Goodness, get a grip of yourself, man! You are a guard in the Hunter HQ! I am cynical enough to believe you were not hired for your battle skills, but optimistic enough to believe you must have some good qualities. Show some guts!"

_Oh god, she was going to eviscerate him_. Blubbering, East Wing Guard reached out his hand towards the young teenage girl next to the One-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. "Please… don't let her kill me," he pleaded, pawing at her dress. "Please… I'll do anything for you. I'll be your slave, just don't let her hurt me. Please… Ma'am…"

The teenage girl stiffened and glared at him as the One-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named started to laugh. "And why does everyone you run into say _that_, Kurapika?" she asked, sounding amused.

"I honestly have no idea," the young girl growled then to East Wing Guard, "For your information, I am a man. We are looking for the intruders who are attacking the HQ. Do you know anything?"

"No! I don't! I don't know anything!" East Wing Guard shrieked. "I was hiding! I hid away when they came! I didn't see a thing!"

"Rubbish," the One-Who-Must-Never-Be-Named said sternly. "If you ran when you saw them, you must have seen something. Pull yourself together and report."

"I didn't! I swear I didn't see anything!"

A stony silence fell over them then in a poisonously sweet voice, the One-Who-Must-Never-Be-Named drawled, "How curious. Why are you so reluctant to tell us what you saw?"

"I'm not…"

"Could it be because you are in cahoots with the ones attacking the HQ?"

East Wing Guard's eyes shot open in horror. "No! I'm not!" he protested, hyperventilating. "I'm not! I swear I'm not!"

"Huh. Is that so?" Cold black eyes regarded him like he was a disgusting bug that had climbed up her rather fashionable pumps. "What do you think, Kurapika?"

"Information is too limited. I am not sure."

"Just to be sure, we should just kill him." East Wing Guard's voice caught in his throat and he whimpered fearfully. "Stay here, Kurapika, I'm going to toss him off the building. If the fall doesn't kill him, the fire below will."

East Wing Guard screamed. The blonde boy (or so _he_ says) looked hesitant. "Don't let her kill me!" East Wing Guard wailed. "_Don't let her kill me!_"

"Maybe…" Kurapika began.

"Oh, don't worry!" the One-Who-Must-Never-Be-Named interrupted cheerily. "It will be a quick death. Wouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. Of course, that might feel like a life time. But there are worse ways to die. For example, I could start chopping him to pieces, starting from his extremities. That will be very messy and very painful, but utterly satisfying."

"No! No! Save me…!"

"Or I could tear his heart out of his chest with my nails while he's still alive. I was always curious how long the body remains alive in that state."

"Oh lord, no! Please! No!"

"I could feed him to my pet crocodiles. They're getting so sick of eating beef every day."

"Please! _Please_!"

"_Or_ I could eat him myself. I've always been curious how human flesh tastes like. I heard it's better than steak."

"No! _No_!" Hope suddenly surged through his veins, making his heart flutter in a way that was definitely cause for concern. "I remember!" East Wing Guard shrieked. "I remember what I saw! It was really dark and smoky and there was a lot of fire, but I _saw_ something!"

The cold, black eyes turned back to him and he shrieked with terror. "Is that so?" she asked casually. "And what would that be?"

"I saw a black figure," East Wing Guard gasped, stumbling over the words to get them out before his heart failed him completely. "I… I couldn't see clearly. It was alone – male I think. Average build. Dressed in black with fur or some kind of feathers or something. He was just walking through the fire like it was nothing."

"Male, average build, dressed in black with fur," she murmured. "That's hardly exciting news. I can name many people like that, _guard_." She said his title in the same voice people used to talk about war criminals being put on trial for genocide and paedophilia.

His stomach lurched. "Uh… uh…" Then it struck him. "He went that way! I heard him talking to someone… a woman! Yes, it was definitely a woman!" He pointed down the corridor. More memories came back. "Then I heard something on the walkie-talkie about a fire in Office A! And something about claws!"

"Claws. Office A." The pressure around his neck decreased as he was lowered gently onto the floor. "I see." Her eyebrows drew together in a frown briefly. Then her expression brightened up as she smiled fondly at him. "Well done, Guard. I am very impressed with your observation skills."

"A… are you?"

"Of course," she said kindly. "It will be a terrible shame to kill you, I must say, a terrible shame indeed."

"Is… is that so?" Guard stared at her, confusion and relief making him feel light-headed. No one had ever, _ever_ told him his life was worth living before. He tried to remember the last time anyone had ever said anything as kind as this to him, and failed.

"Oh yes. It's amazing how much detail you actually managed to capture even through all the fire and chaos. You must be a very valued member of your squad."

An unflattering blush spread over East Wing Guard's swallow complexion. "It was nothing," he mumbled, dragging a foot behind him.

"Oh, I am afraid you are too modest. A man of your talents is extremely valuable to me." Her smile, much gentler and kinder than before, widened. "My dear Guard, I need you to do something for me."

East Wing Guard's stared at her in disbelief. Was she… was she asking a favour of him? Was this infinitely powerful, omnipotent, _respected_ blacklist hunter actually asking him for _help_? This was actually… actually… quite… an honour. "Yes?" he asked tremulously.

"I need you to search these corridors and all surrounding areas for survivors," the woman before him said, her voice firm with authority and confidence. "If you find any, bring them to the conference room. Protect them. Can you do that?"

"Of course, of course," East Wing Guard said, trying to blink away the tears in his eyes. Emotion swelled in his chest and he impulsively said, "I will protect them with my life."

The kind smile returned to her face. "Very well said, Guard, though I would much prefer it if you protected them with the carbine in your hands instead. Now, my companion and I must be off. We have some intruders to hunt. I am sorry you wouldn't be able to join us on this exciting quest. But I am sure your own little adventures will be marvellous tales to tell."

East Wing Guard nodded emotionally. He was very sorry he couldn't join her on the quest too. "Goodbye, Miss Midoya," he mumbled shyly. "I'll… see you later."

"Of course." She nodded benignly at him. "In a while then."

East Wing Guard watched the two figures depart down the hall way with a sigh of regret. How he missed the kind, gentle mistress that was Miss Midoya already. But it wouldn't do to stand around for too long. He had survivors to find. He had to protect them with his life. That was what Miss Midoya would want of course.

With a grim smile on his thin lips, East Wing Guard turned and strode down the corridor bravely. What had he to fear? He was a guard of the great Hunter Association after all – one with Miss Midoya's trust. Ah… how wonderful it was to have such high goals in life, such great things worth dying for…

* * *

><p>Kurapika bit his tongue until they reached the next corridor before he asked, "What was that?"<p>

"What was what?" the enigmatic woman before him asked absent-mindedly as she peered into a room.

"That… that guard. I mean… what did you do to him? He went from being terrified of you to being your devoted slave in a split second."

She laughed out loud, a merry, genuine laugh that made Kurapika feel like smiling despite himself. "It was a variant of the Stockholm Syndrome. There is no greater loyalty to be found than the one created by first threatening a man's life then letting him live and giving him a direction in life." She smiled sunnily. "I've heard it works particularly well on people with extremely low self-esteems."

The desire to smile was replaced very quickly by a sudden apprehension towards this woman. "You are a very scary woman," he told her accusingly.

"So I've been told dear," she replied, obviously flattered, "so I've been told."

* * *

><p><span>AN: And that was the first chapter for this story. Genuinely hoped you enjoyed this story! I hope Kurapika wasn't too OC. I did my best to keep him in character, but at the same time, I wanted to bring out that kind of overly-serious, somewhat awkward teenage side to him that was so evident during the Hunter Exam. It was difficult balancing that aspect of him with the too-matured, too-tortured side of him that came out during the Genei Ryodan Arc. I hoped it turned out well! Anyway, please leave a review if you have the time!

Sorry for the lack of trivial this time round. I didn't have any inspiration for it, so I just left it out. The next chapter might have one!


	2. Simply Adorable

A/N: This is not the sequel to "The Series" with my OC Midoya. This is a separate short story (probably two chapters), because I am _still_ stuck writing the sequel. Apologies! The sequel got out of control, and I had to try to reign it in and put it back on track.

This short story is simply the result of the question "What would happen if Kurapika met Midoya?". The answer is, of course, "A lot of deception and lying on Midoya's part". This story takes place on the same day Kuroro and Midoya invaded the Hunter Association York Shin HQ to hack into the Jyonen-user database. If you don't know what I mean, you have to read A Series of Bizarre and Mildly Humourous Events to understand this story. My intention was to provide a view of Midoya from someone who would judge her actions a lot harsher than Kuroro (the one of dubious morality) would. Also, I wanted to explore more of Midoya's character, Kurapika's character and the Hunter Association in general. Kuroro makes a cameo in the next chapter, for those missing him.

Though I'm not necessarily very happy with how this story turned out, I hope you still enjoy this story and please leave a review at the end of it! Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Hunter X Hunter does not belong to me. I do not own the copyright to any of these materials. This is a fanfiction written solely for the purposes of entertainment. If you wish to host this story on a site outside of , please contact the author for permission first.

* * *

><p><span>Simply Adorable<span>

For the longest time, the two of them trekked through corridors and office rooms wrecked by fire. Walking through corridors with scorched, blackened walls, turning through the maze-like corridors of the HQ and breathing in the smoke was disorientating enough even for skilled hunters like themselves. It was hardly any surprise when they encountered several people staggering around blindly, unable to find their way in the building they have worked in for years. With as much time as they could afford, they had pointed the lost souls in the right direction and hoped they managed to find other people who could get them out of trouble. They also encountered other even less fortunate souls, nothing more than darkened husks lying where the fire had washed over them.

Not for the first time, Kurapika rubbed at his eyes which had become dry and irritated within minutes of exposure to the air in the building. Blinking away the tears that now overflowed onto his cheeks, Kurapika glanced at the woman next to him. She strode along looking absolutely cool and unflappable, as if she walked through fire and brimstone every other day. Maybe she did. What did Kurapika know about this woman anyway, other than what he had heard about her and the little she had been inclined to tell him herself? It was surprising, he mused with sudden self-awareness, that he had been so willing to come along with her on this. For all he knew, she might be the one in charge of the attacks on the HQ. Rationally-speaking, it was possible, but his instincts said no. He did not doubt that this woman was capable of extreme, destructive violence, but somehow, this attack seemed too crass for her. There was no style to it, only brute force. And this woman, Kurapika could tell from his brief association with her, did everything with style. It may not be instantly recognised as style, but it was there. One just needed to squint a little and think like a twisted, deranged maniac to see it.

"Kurapika, look," she murmured, snapping him out of his daydreams. She was kneeling by one of the office doors, peering at something on the floor.

Quickly, Kurapika moved to her side. What she was examining appeared to be a starburst of black, perhaps about the size of a melon. "An explosion," he observed.

"Indeed," Midoya agreed. "Curious, isn't it? I have seen several of these already, as we walked through the corridors. Perhaps a good twenty or so."

She had? Kurapika felt his face flush with embarrassment. He hadn't noticed those starbursts at all. The corridors were so trashed it all just looked like… black to him. Midoya must have noticed the look on her face because she smiled kindly and said, "It takes experience to spot these things. What do you make of it though, these explosion marks?"

Kurapika pursed his lips and thought about it. Explosions at several points along the corridors of the building? A shiver ran down his spine. "Someone planted bombs there," he said quietly. "To have so many planted along the corridors… it must have been an inside job."

"Perhaps," Midoya conceded. "It is an interesting location for a bomb though, isn't it?"

Was it? Kurapika peered at the starburst again then looked around. Immediately, it struck him. "The bomb would have been planted right in front of the office door," he said with dawning realisation. "But… that doesn't make sense. People would see it, even if it was only a small bomb. That means…"

"That means that the bombs were planted almost immediately before they were set off," Midoya finished, getting to her feet and brushing her pants down. "Very interesting, isn't it? How does one plant a bomb and set it off immediately without killing oneself?"

"By Nen," Kurapika said immediately. "Perhaps it is not the only way, but it is the explanation that jumps to mind. Occam's razor."

Midoya smiled with approval. "Very smart. You should be a hunter or something," she said. "Now we have learned something about our opponent. Either he can produce a Nen-shield so powerful it can shield him from the explosions, or, more likely given the bombs all went off about the same time…"

"His power _is_ explosives," Kurapika reasoned, frowning. "We are talking about someone who can Materialize explosives or Manipulate actual explosives."

"Possibly," Midoya agreed. "It's not a rare ability by any means. I've met several Nen-users who can manipulate or materialize explosives; undoubtedly they all watched the same movies. These abilities are not necessarily as impressive as what we're looking at here, though they can still be pretty nasty to deal with. Once, this guy actually managed to plant an explosive on me. Apparently, the only way I could get rid of it was to catch hold of him and say some phrase. It took me all of five seconds to catch him. I was so impressed he lasted that long that I just let the guy go."

And she wasn't boasting. Kurapika kept his mouth shut as he stared at her back, torn between being impressed and being wary. She wasn't boasting about her abilities; she was merely stating a fact that she knew to be true. That made her scarier than any of the scum Kurapika had met who shot their mouths off like it was nobody's business. It suddenly occurred to him that many of the more exaggerated rumours he had heard about her powers might actually be true.

He decided to test that theory. "Did you once kill a cave troll with a single blow to the back of its skull?" Kurapika asked casually. When people think of cave trolls, they think of the massive ten feet monsters found in fairy tales and folklore. Kurapika, who had once followed his father on a troll hunt knew that was not the case. Cave trolls were not ten feet tall monsters that were as strong as twenty men and as swift as the wind. No, cave trolls were _twenty_ feet tall monsters, as strong as thirty men, capable of breaking the sound barrier when they wanted to and had armour-plated skin so tough spears could not penetrate them. They were also only the baby form of a much more terrifying monster: the titan. No one had ever seen a titan and survived to talk about it _ever_. Legend has it that they were massive monsters so big they could not walk the surface of the earth without shattering the continents. Many religions adopted the titans as earth gods of sort and offered annual sacrifices to them in caves through which they supposedly foraged for food by extending a massive arm two miles long out and grabbing the nearest living thing.

"Hmmm?" Midoya murmured, peering at the walls idly. "No, I don't think I've ever done that."

"Is that so?" Kurapika asked neutrally. "I heard rumours that on a trip to the continent of Hun, you once encountered a cave troll that killed and ate your team. You subsequently killed it with a blow to the skull."

"Continent of Hun?" Midoya shook her head. "No, I've never encountered cave trolls there. I have a feeling they don't like how the climate there is either too wet or too dry. I certainly didn't like it." She bit her lower lip suddenly in thought. "Come to think of it, I did encounter a monster that killed my team and I did crush it with a single blow. But, despite the similarities, I don't believe it was a cave troll."

"Oh? What was it?"

"Well," Midoya said thoughtfully, "It looked kind of like a gigantic arm that extended out of a cave. Those are called titans I believe."

Correction: only one person in the world had ever encountered a titan and lived to talk about it. Kurapika stopped gaping, only because the smoke in the air was grating at his throat and making him cough. "A… titan?" he gasped. "Why didn't you tell anyone about it? No one has ever seen a titan before! This is… this is important information!"

"Oh, I did tell someone about it," Midoya said cheerily. "I told Netero of course. We went to take a look together. It was rather fun, this mentor-student bonding session. Oh, I was still his student then, if you didn't know."

"But…!" Kurapika spluttered. "If that's the case, why was nothing written about it?"

"Oh, there was something written about it, just not much because it was kind of boring." Kurapika stared. Midoya shrugged. "It was just this gigantic thing lying underground doing nothing much. Both Netero and I took turns poking at it, but it couldn't even turn around to get at us. It was really kind of boring after a while. So we renamed it 'Gigantic Underground Primate' and gave it a brief entry in the Hunter Association New Beast Encyclopaedia."

Gigantic Underground Primate. Kurapika _had_ read that entry. It had read, "Strange ape-like creature that likes to just lie underground and do nothing. Weird huh?" Out loud, he said, "How interesting."

"On the contrary, I found it incredibly uninteresting." She winked at him and held out her arms in front of her. "Come here, Kurapika."

Kurapika eyed her suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because," she said cheerfully, "there is an explosion coming your way and you need my protection."

Kurapika barely made it into her arms when the explosion roared over them.

* * *

><p>When the fire and thunder died down, Kurapika was aware of only two things. First, that he was still alive and (he did a quick check) mostly intact. Second, that he had his arms wrapped around Midoya and his face pressed into the crook of her neck. In the wake of the explosion, with the stench of melted plastic in the air, she smelled incredibly nice, like soap mixed with sweat. And she felt… <em>holy blazing sun that shines benignly on the Kuruta clan and makes the crops grow healthy and strong<em>. Kurapika's eyes widened. Underneath a decent layer of soft, _deceptive_ fat was muscle, hard, solid, unyielding muscles of steel. She was like Genei Ryodan Member Eleven hidden under a layer of fat and make-up and breasts. Good lord, he was _hugging_ a female Genei Ryodan Member Eleven. _Good lord, he was hugging a woman!_

"Are you scared?" a quiet voice whispered in his ears.

Kurapika blinked, partly out of surprise and partly to get rid of the grit in his eyes. "No," he mumbled confusedly. "Why?"

"You're still holding on to me."

Making an extremely unmanly noise that did not do wonders for his young teen ego, Kurapika leapt out of her arms. "My apologies," he stammered, straightening his outfit and trying to regain composure, "I was merely… shocked in the aftermath of the explosion and…"

"Of course, I understand," Midoya said, looking amused. "But we should get ready."

"Get ready?"

"Our enemy is right there."

Kurapika's head snapped around to look at the direction she was pointing at. At the same time, he leapt backwards, the Dowsing Chain whipping around him, poised both to defend against an oncoming attack and to attack the enemy.

It was just as well he did. A slim, petite woman stood at the far end of the corridor. Short, messy red hair framed a cute pixie-like face, complete with a heart-shaped face, delicate features and large green eyes. The glossy lips spread in a smile. "Nice reflexes, boy. Are you hunters?" she asked in a lovely lilting voice.

"Yes," Midoya confirmed.

"Oh good," the woman said. Then the pale skin at the sides of the mouth split and the delicate jaw unhinged, revealing a large, cavernous mouth lined entirely with huge, shark-like teeth. With a feral scream, she bounded forward, bouncing off the walls and ceiling as she lunged for Midoya.

"Watch out!" Kurapika shouted, swinging the Dowsing Chain forward. In mid-bounce, the woman lashed out at his chain, kicking it away before it landed a blow. Flipping neatly, she landed back at her original position, mouth parted slightly as she panted. In the dying flames, her teeth gleamed red.

"Oh no, little hunters," she said, her voice as lovely as a bird's song. "Do not fight back. This wouldn't have to hurt as much as it will if you do." Her laughter echoed down the corridor as she threw herself forward again, wide green eyes fixed on Midoya.

Immediately, Kurapika swung his chain again, aiming low this time in an attempt to snare her legs. The fanged grin widened and the next thing Kurapika knew, she was barrelling towards him, claws flashing forward to rent flesh. Cursing, Kurapika drew back the chain as hard as he could, trying to wrap it around her torso this time. Girlish laughter bubbled out of the deformed mouth as she skipped over the chain like a child jumping rope and her claws tore the front of Kurapika's top. If he hadn't fallen onto his bottom when he did, she would have eviscerated him.

Then abruptly she vanished, darting away with impossible speed. Kurapika scrambled to his feet, looking around wildly. The green eyes were no longer fixed on him though; they were fixed on the woman standing a little away from him. Kurapika risked a glance in Midoya's direction to see what she was doing. She wasn't doing anything. Her Nen was still a smooth thin barrier just an inch away from her skin. She was still leaning on one foot, watching the battle. If anything, she simply seemed to have… paid more attention to the battle. Kurapika could not think of a better way to put it. However, the simple fact that Midoya seemed to be taking note was enough to put the weird woman on guard.

"You're not an ordinary hunter," the woman said, sniffing the air like a wild beast. "You smell different."

"That would be my apprentice's cologne. I used some this morning. It's supposed to have stuff in it that smells manly and sexy… in a manly way."

"It's not that," the woman said, eyeing Midoya warily as if unsure of whether she was joking or not. "You smell of blood. You smell of death."

"Never knew they put blood and corpses in colognes these days. The definition of 'sexy' has changed some since my time…"

Something pale and wet-looking shimmered, and Midoya vanished abruptly. The wall behind her creaked and groaned as sharp claws ripped through the plaster.

Snarling, the woman flipped in mid-air, landed, and lunged at Midoya again, fangs and claws gleaming red. With a careless gesture, Midoya disappeared again and reappeared further down the corridor. "Violence is not always the answer," she quipped before darting away from another powerful slash. That gave Kurapika the opening to attack the enemy.

With an efficient movement, he snapped the Dowsing Chain towards the strange half-beast half-woman, snagging the chain around her ankle successfully. The woman tumbled to the ground with a frustrated howl. Before Kurapika could secure her properly, she twisted around like an eel, ripped the combat boot on her foot off and leapt away nimbly from Kurapika's chain. "Annoying brat!" she hissed, her voice somehow still melodious and lilting despite the rage burning in her Nen. Then she gave an incongruous squeak of shock when Midoya casually tossed a slim throwing knife in her direction. The blade missed her as she scuttled about on all fours like a spider.

"Nice reflexes," Midoya said, and Kurapika couldn't tell if she was mocking the woman or being sincere. Another throwing knife appeared in her hand and she flicked it towards the enemy. The enemy leapt back again and growled.

"You are dangerous. Those are just normal knives, not even reinforced by Nen, but I feel threatened by them when they are in your hands," the woman said softly. "You must be killed." The woman's lips parted in a snarl and she jumped at Midoya. Two things happened at the same time. A dagger magically appeared in Midoya's hand and she raised it, pointing it at a non-vital part of the woman's body. At the same moment, Kurapika shouted a warning and lashed out with the Dowsing Chain. The ball of the chain rocked into the woman's side, thrusting her sideways and forwards – and slamming her throat into Midoya's dagger.

Midoya's mouth parted in a little 'o' of surprise as she staggered backwards to take the sudden dead weight against her. Kurapika dropped the chain and stared at the unmoving woman. "Is she…?" he asked hesitantly.

"Quite dead," Midoya confirmed, pulling the dagger out. "I severed her windpipe entirely. Her lungs collapsed. Death was instantaneous." She looked at her bloody hands and sighed. "Well, that's one of them. She might be the woman our dear guard told us about." Wiping her dagger and hands on the black skirt she was wearing, she added, "I would have liked to question her, but there's no point crying over spilled milk…"

"I did not mean to kill her," Kurapika said quietly. "I do not hesitate to kill when needed but that… that was… unnecessary."

"Who knows?" Midoya said casually. "If you haven't done what you did, I might be the one who is dead now."

Despite the nonchalance in her voice, Kurapika could hear her pity from a mile away. It made his jaw set with stubborn pride. "I made a mistake and I take responsibility for my own mistakes," he said sharply.

"Touchy, touchy," Midoya teased with no real hostility in her voice.

"I don't need your charity."

"I never give charity." She tapped the side of her face thoughtfully. "Unless it's for puppies and kitties. I like puppies and kitties. If my house didn't get attacked so often, I would have bought a puppy or a kitty a long time ago. Or a hippopotamus. Hippos are so adorable."

"What does that mean? That I'm a little puppy that needs to be coddled?" Kurapika snapped, trying not to bristle at her dismissive tone. It was better than being thought of as a hippo, he supposed.

"It means that shit happens, boy," Midoya replied firmly but not unkindly. "Deal with it." Without waiting for a reply, she turned and continued down the corridor. After a tensed second, Kurapika followed her.

"Thank you," he said hesitantly, and not a little gruffly. "I… I may have needed that." He gritted his teeth and added, "My inexperience makes me… makes me… well. That."

"No problem. I have an apprentice, a little older than you, but probably just as experienced, and I was a rookie myself not too long ago." She rubbed her chin in a strikingly masculine manner that was strangely reminiscent of a certain mass murderer. "Okay, it was pretty long ago, but I have an excellent memory of how silly I was as a new Hunter. For the first two years or so of my career, I kept killing my bounties simply because it was easier. I only found out later that live bounties are worth more in many cases."

"Is that why you became a bounty hunter? For the money?"

"No, but more money is always better than less money. Noble goals are all fine and well, but you can't do much with _just_ noble goals. Money, connections and power help, no?" She looked at him from the corner of her eyes with a smile that was more knowing than he liked.

Well, he was the one working for the mafia, though he hated them, because their money gave him the ability to take revenge and locate the eyes of his tribe people. It wasn't like he was in the position to throw stones. "True," he admitted then forced himself not to say anything more.

Still, he was starting to understand why Wing reacted so negatively to this woman. No one who was that callous and cold about death, so suspiciously knowledgeable about other hunters, and so powerful was as white as the driven snow.

Something buzzed in the background. Then a low, masculine voice, sensual and compelling despite the static murmured, _"You killed Kitty. I'm impressed." _

Both of them stopped in their tracks and look around. "Cameras and speakers," Kurapika whispered, nodding at the offices which had remained largely untouched by the fires. "He's hijacked the security systems in the building." Midoya's eyes flicked briefly in the direction he nodded at and she gave a barely perceptible nod.

"_Indeed, boy. I've been watching the two of you for a while. If I may make a guess, the two of you are potentially the most powerful hunters in the building at the moment, other than the other one who is in the Chairman's office,"_ the smoky voice said with a low chuckle. _"It seems rude to refer to you as 'boy' and 'girl' though. May I have your names please?" _

"It's only polite to introduce yourself first," Midoya said primly.

Genuine amusement seeped into the chuckle. _"Ah, where are my manners? I am known commonly as Raven. You are?" _

"Midoya, and this here is Kurapika." Midoya rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "So, why are you contacting us, Raven?"

"_To make an offer. I see that you are hunting me, which is not good for my plans. Work for me instead. I will pay your standard rates." _

"I hardly believe you can afford me," Kurapika barked, bristling. "Do not think that because we are hunters we are driven by money. I will not give in to you no matter how much money you offer."

"_Ah, a rookie,"_ the voice said, condescension and laughter bubbling in it. _"How about you, Midoya? Will you consider my offer?" _

"I would like to," Midoya said, smiling, "but I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to afford me either."

"_Try me."_

"My standard fee is thirty billion zennis a week plus one male sex slave who will satisfy me for the duration of the job," Midoya said smoothly.

"_Thirty billion zennis?"_

"Sex slave?" Kurapika exclaimed, sounding horrified.

"_That is an exorbitant price." _

"That is… wrong!"

"A girl's got needs, darling," Midoya purred, looking maliciously gleeful. "Killing people makes me terribly aroused." Her hand brushed his and she tapped a quick beat against the back of his hand. Kurapika's mouth closed slowly around the heated comment he had been about to make.

"_I never said I needed you to kill anybody, Midoya,"_ the voice said slowly. _"That is not my purpose here. I have no interest in killing indiscriminately." _

"Oh really? I apologize; I should have known you are the type who kills _discriminately_, given how I have a handful of dead employees in this place, all of whom are here only because they responsibly dragged themselves to work this morning_._" There was a deep sigh and Kurapika got the sense the speaker was about to say something, but Midoya talked over it. "So tell me, Raven," she said coolly, "what exactly are you here for?"

"_Revolution."_ The voice was no longer appealing or sensual. It had turned into an ugly hiss, hateful and angry. _"Too long have the Hunter Association lived above the rest of the world, thinking they are better than the rest. Too long have they stuck their greedy fingers in every industry, sucking privileges out from them and making things difficult for others. It is time to prove they are not perfect, that they can be brought down, that their arrogance has made them weak! It is time to remove their corrupt influence and create a new order! A new order of justice!" _

"Noble reasons," Midoya said. Her voice was neutral, but Kurapika thought he saw something scornful in her expression. It was hard to tell with the way she was smiling. "So what exactly are your plans then?"

The ugly hiss disappeared and the voice laughed. _"I can hardly tell you that now, can I? You haven't even pledged your services to me." _

"And I can't agree to work for you unless I know what you're up to."

"_That is either a genuine offer or a very poor attempt at subterfuge." _

"Consider me an honest and upright person."

More laughter echoed from the speaker. _"This has been an interesting conversation, but alas, it is going nowhere. My offer ends soon, Midoya. What is your reply?"_

"Well, darling, first, tell me, do you know why the Hunter Association _is _so arrogant, so uncaring of the weak and downtrodden?"

"_Because they are corrupt."_

"Incorrect. That's only looking at the middle of the equation." Midoya's cheery smile vanished to be replaced by a cold, cruel skull's grin. "It's because we _are _that powerful. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and we, darling Raven, have _absolute_ power. So tell me, darling, how do you want to stop someone with absolute power when 'absolute' power means the non-existence of any weakness or vulnerability?"

Silence. _"Your arrogance will be your downfall,"_ the voice hissed. _"I look forward to killing you." _

"Ah, you wound my fragile heart. Oh wait, I don't have one." Midoya wriggled her fingers at the nearest camera. "Toodles sweetie pie. I'll see you in hell, because, believe me, it doesn't matter if you kill good guys or bad guys. In the end, you're still a murderer and there's a special place in hell for people like us."

There was a loud clonk from the speaker then it fell into a moody silence.

Midoya snorted in a way that was strangely elegant. "Amateurs," she said, not quite sneering but almost there.

"Amateur?" Kurapika demanded. "They blew up parts of the HQ, killed numerous people and are almost in control of the building. How is that considered amateurish?"

"How is that _not_ considered amateurish?" Midoya replied dryly. "The York Shin HQ is by no means the most prominent or well-defended Hunter Association HQ in the world. That any of the Zodiacs are here at all is in itself a great coincidence brought on by the tiny fiasco dear Kuroro Lucifer caused. Now, in this placed fill with mostly administrative staff and non-combat employees of the Hunter Association, what has this Raven (a horribly clichéd name too I might add) accomplished? A twenty-odd person casualty statistic, the destruction of parts of a building, and nothing else. He still has not taken command of the building, since Cheadle is still in the Chairman's office, he has failed to take out the dangerous people like us and the guards, and he is thus still being hunted by us. Amateur, I say, and again, amateur! If it was up to me, I would have taken over the entire building by now, with zero casualties, without _anyone realising the building has been compromised_."

And that, Kurapika mused as they continued down the corridor, was the difference between a powerful person and an absolutely powerful person.

* * *

><p>"… and this is why I hate you," Cheadle concluded calmly then gently put the phone down. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath then opened them and regarded the bedraggled group before her. The group consisted mostly of the guards who had survived the attack. Mostly, they were well-trained but low level soldiers who wished to gain prominence in the Hunter Association by working their way up from the bottom rungs to the top. Most of them were good people and good soldiers, if not as startling powerful as some of the more well-known figures in the Hunter Association. At the moment, wearing blood-stained, torn uniforms, and looks of fear on their faces, they did not look <em>that<em> impressive, but Cheadle was aware that they had been actively gathering survivors under Midoya's orders and bringing them to safety. That took guts and a commitment to their duties, which she could respect. It was more than some truly powerful Hunters had.

"Ma'am, what did the main base say?" one of the guards asked anxiously.

"I just got off the phone with Vice-Chairman Pariston," Cheadle said crisply. "He has deemed the attack on our HQ a small issue that does not require reinforcements. He has tasked us with the duty of hunting down the intruders and ending them ourselves."

A murmur of unrest spread through the guards and one of them said, "But… they blew up the cafeteria! And some of the office buildings! Some of our colleagues are dead!"

"Indeed," Cheadle agreed evenly. It was tempting to put Pariston down in front of the guards, but if there was one thing Cheadle knew, it was that no hunter wanted to see the cracks and conflicts in the top management. "This attack has struck a blow against the Hunter Association, and we will respond with extreme prejudice to this. However, if Pariston believes that we can handle this little event ourselves then it is likely that we _can_."

"But…" The murmurs rose as discontent spread through the guards. Cheadle could hardly blame them; they had to bring severely injured colleagues to the first aid room, had to carry the corpses of friends to another room for future arrangements; none of them were happy to deal with the intruders themselves. "But Ma'am…"

Cheadle raised a hand until the murmurs died down. "Do not worry," she said, "I am not the only high-level Hunter in this building. Two Star Blacklist Hunter Midoya Kito is here too, and is at the moment actively hunting the mastermind behind this attack."

The silence grew almost oppressive. "Erm…" a guard said, raising his hand hesitantly, "not that I do not think highly of Hunter Kito or anything like that… she's uh… she's a really uh… uh… exotic person and all that… but erm… is it… is it _safe_ leaving this matter in her hands?"

She had asked herself that question many times in the past hour. "Why do you say so?" Cheadle asked.

"Erm… because… well… she's a really skilled hunter and really powerful and all that… but… erm… isn't it just as likely that she will bring the building down on us? Not that… not that I'm saying she's a bad fighter or…"

"This will not get back to her, so don't bother twisting your words like that," Cheadle said with a sigh. "Midoya… that is Kito… well yes, she does have a track record of causing quite a bit of collateral damage during her missions. However, she has also shown before that is perfectly capable of handling things… quietly. I trust her to deal with this matter as she sees fit."

"But what if the way she sees fit _is_ to blow up the whole building?" another guard asked anxiously.

"Isn't it safer to order her to _leave_ the building instead?" the first guard added quickly.

Indeed, that was the question, but no. Cheadle had great faith in her own ability, but in situations such as this, it was always good to have powerful backup at hand, and few hunters in the world could match Midoya in terms of sheer power. "I trust that she will do her best to see to the safety of the remaining survivors," Cheadle said firmly.

At that moment, one of the video screens in the office screeched and Midoya's face appeared on it. _"Cheadle-san,"_ she said, beaming.

"Good lord, she's psychic," the first guard who had spoken stammered in a voice distorted by terror and turned green.

"_Indeed, and I trust you were just saying wonderful and admirable things about me," _Midoya said wryly. _"Because if you weren't, I'll have to do strange and disturbing things to your spleen." _

The guard drew in a quavering breath, gasped a terrified prayer then fainted. The rest of the guards edged warily away from the prone body and avoided looking at the face on the screen.

"_It's so hard to find good help these days,"_ Midoya sighed to someone off screen. _"People are just so sensitive . Why, back in my day, threatening to kill each other was the only way for all us emotionally dysfunctional Hunters to express love for each other, you know? My first love proposed to me by carving a heart and his initials into my stomach with his dagger while I was tied down, still conscious and screaming with agony. It was like the most romantic proposal ever in the history of the Hunter Association and it even made it into the newsletter. It's too bad we didn't work out and I had to kill him, but what can I say? Things work out like that. I should have known he wasn't the most faithful man from the beginning when he didn't even bother to carve his proposal deep enough to scar permanently." _

Cheadle cleared her throat. "Midoya, are you here for any reason other than terrifying the guards in our employment?" she asked coolly. God, that woman could be as bad as Pariston sometimes. If she didn't detest Pariston as much as Cheadle did, Cheadle wouldn't even be on speaking terms with her.

"_Of course I am, dear Cheadle-san. Things have happened, and I am sure you want to hear a report of it." _

"Report," Cheadle agreed. She did not bother making it sound like a command, even though she was technically of a higher rank than Midoya. One _orders _Two Star Blacklist Hunter Midoya Kito who was also, as the rumours go, June Kito, infamous heir to the Kito estate and owner of well over half the red-light district in York Shin, at one's own risk. Cheadle, though a prideful person, did not consider the risk sufficiently rewarding enough to take.

"_My partner, young Kurapika, and I have encountered one of the intruders. She is a Nen-user by the name of Kitty. She is reasonably dead after I slit her throat. Just in case, I decapitated her corpse. You can never be too careful these days." _

"Excellent. And?"

"_And, we made contact with a person who appears to be the mastermind behind this attack. He must be someone who watches too many bad vampire movies, as can be seen by how he goes by the horribly clichéd name of Raven. He contacted us over the building's speaker system and attempted to bribe us into working for him. He failed of course, because Kurapika is a deliciously moral person and I am too bloody rich to be bribed by an unknown male of dubious hotness with delusions of grandeur." _

"How fortunate for us all. Did you find out his reason for attacking us?"

"_Revolution, or so he claims. He wishes to wipe the corrupt Hunter Association off the face of the earth and replace it with a much more upright and just one. One can only imagine how disturbed his mind must be if he believes the Hunter Association is corrupt. We are, of course, nothing but just, moral, intelligent, powerful, caring, loving…" _

"Your sentiments about the organization are very touching," Cheadle said dryly. "But this Raven person… if he was contacting you via the speakers, he must be in the Public Announcement room. Head there and apprehend him, with extreme prejudice if need be."

"_A step ahead of you, Cheadle-san," _Midoya said cheerily. _"We are already in the PA room, and it is empty." _

"You were one step too slow," Cheadle said, trying not to let frustration seep into her voice. "Continue to hunt this Raven down."

"_Ah, that's the thing. See, the PA room is a floor below the fiftieth floor, right below the room next to the Chairman's office." _

"And?"

"_And, there's a hole in the ceiling of the room." _

Cheadle froze and her throat clenched up. "He's on this floor already?"

"_No, Cheadle-san. I can see the corridors of the fiftieth floor on the cameras here and they are empty. I believe he is IN the Chairman's office already." _

And that was when the guard lying prone on the floor raised his machine gun and opened fire on the rest of the room.

* * *

><p>People died. As Cheadle leapt behind the sturdy desk that belonged to Netero and drew her Nen around her like glowing armour, guards fell, screaming horribly as Nen reinforced bullets ripped through their defenceless bodies. The guards furthest from the shooter managed to raise shields, but they were not strong enough to withstand the bullets. Soon, they fell too, gurgling on their own blood as they died.<p>

The bullets stopped and the figure climbed to his feet, gun trained on where Cheadle was hiding. "Come out," a cold, smooth voice demanded.

"Or what?" Cheadle shot back.

"I set up explosives in the conference room where the survivors are. Come out or I will detonate them. Lose the Nen shield too."

Sighing, Cheadle stood up with her hands raised, and eyed the shooter. He was of average height and average build, with pale, flawless skin and black hair. Piercing blue eyes, framed by dark, smoky lashes, glared at her from behind orange-tinted shades. "You must be Raven," she commented.

"Yes, I am," the shooter said with a sharp nod. "Get out from behind the table."

Slowly, Cheadle inched out, careful to keep her hands in sight. "So, what do you want?" she asked calmly.

"I want you dead," the shooter known as Raven replied dryly, "but that wouldn't solve issues. You are a member of the Zodiac, are you not? Contact the Zodiac and that Chairman Netero."

"What for?"

A grim smile spread over the shooter's face, turning a rather striking face into something ugly and cruel. "I have with me Cheadle of the Zodiac as hostage, along with a good fifty other employees of the Hunter Association in this building. I wish to _negotiate_ with the Chairman and the Zodiacs."

"About what?" Cheadle demanded, trying to keep the sting of humiliation out of her voice. She was a Three Star Hunter for god's sake! How did she end up in this situation? But… reflections were for later. Right now, she had to deal with the crazy guy holding the detonator to explosives hidden in a roomful of people Cheadle felt responsible for. "What are you negotiating for?"

"The disbandment of the Zodiacs and the resignation of Chairman Netero," the shooter said coldly.

A bark of disbelieving laughter escaped Cheadle's lips. "Are you insane?" she snapped. "There is no way the Zodiacs will disband and Chairman Netero will resign because you took me and a few low level employees hostage. We are not as important as the existence of the entire top management of the Hunter Association."

"Precisely," the shooter said, the ugly grin on his face widening. "That is precisely how they will react, no?"

A frown creased Cheadle's forehead, but not for long. She wasn't considered the most intelligent of the Zodiac for nothing. "The negotiation will be on public channels," she deduced. "The public will witness Chairman Netero and the Zodiac leaving their own people to a gory fate in order to, as it would appear to the common man, protect their own privileged positions."

"Yes," the shooter purred. "That is right, Cheadle-_san_."

"The Hunter Association is powerful, but with enough public pressure, it might be enough to turn politicians against us."

"Yes."

Cheadle eyed the shooter. "For a man with such a clichéd name, you are pretty intelligent," she said.

"_Indeed, he is."_ An amused, charming voice said from behind her. Cheadle hid the flinch that came at the sound of that _voice_.

The shooter's eyes darted to the video screen behind her. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The handsome young man on the screen with the perfectly coiffed hair beamed back. _"Pariston of the Zodiac and Vice-Chairman of the Hunter Association. We guessed that you would want to communicate with us, so here I am. I have been nominated to speak with you on behalf of Chairman Netero and the Zodiac." _

The shooter blinked in surprise then he glared at Cheadle. "Make this negotiation public, now," he snapped.

Cheadle hesitated but he waved the detonator at her meaningfully, so she did as he said, pressing the button that would make the conversation public to anyone within York Shin City. She could only hope Pariston had something up his sleeve. Well, he usually did, but she hoped what he had up his sleeve would actually get her and the employees out _alive_.

The shooter cleared his throat and addressed the camera. "Citizens of York Shin. My name is Raven and I have taken the Hunter Association York Shin HQ hostage. I have taken Cheadle of the Zodiac and fifty other low level employees hostage. I am now going to make demands on the Zodiac and the Chairman of the Hunter Association. If my demands are not met, I will kill the hostages in as violent and as gruesome a way as I can manage. Is that clear, Pariston?"

"_Perfectly,"_ Pariston said, sounding eager to be of service. Grudgingly, Cheadle had to admit that the Zodiacs had chosen well. No one was as good at _sounding_ good as Pariston was.

"Good," the shooter said, smiling cruelly. "I hereby demand the immediate resignation of Chairman Netero and the disbandment of the Zodiacs."

"_And we accept."_

Cheadle's jaw dropped. The shooter's jaw dropped. Pariston beamed. "E… excuse me?" the shooter demanded weakly. "You accept?" Cheadle echoed his sentiments with the glare she sent in Pariston's direction. What was he thinking? If the top management was dissolved, the Hunter Association would fall into chaos! Powerful hunters with the knowledge of Nen could go rampaging around freely without a governing force that would clamp down harshly on any such activities. Society could be overthrown by just a handful of powerful Nen-users. What on earth was he thinking? He was setting society up on the track to destruction! Good lord, things could not get worse than this!

"_Oh yes. Of course. We, that is, the Chairman and the Zodiac, feel extremely responsible for the well-being of our employees. The hostages you have taken are purely administrative staff, clerks and secretaries, with little to no combat experience. They did not ask for this to happen to them, are not paid to endure such brutality, and as such, we cannot cling on to power and let them suffer. Furthermore, Cheadle-san is one of us, one of the Zodiacs, and a close personal friend of mine. I would be devastated if anything were to happen to her. Are you alright, Cheadle-san? Have you been hurt?" _

"No," Cheadle grounded out through gritted teeth. "I am _perfectly_ fine, Pariston. I thank you for your _concern_." Close personal friend her _ass_… the nerve of that _bastard…_!

"So…" the shooter said, licking his lips, "you are disbanding the Zodiacs, and the Chairman is resigning, for real?"

"_Of course."_

"And this will be permanent?"

"_As soon as the paper work is done. I hope you will grant us some time to set the procedure in motion. Some paperwork must be done to formalise this, as you must know. Fear not; it will take no longer than half an hour for your wishes to be granted." _Pariston's eyes suddenly flicked to a different part of the room and his smile widened just enough to put Cheadle on guard. _"And since we are all agreed on, I shall be on my way to carry out my promise. Good day, Cheadle-san, Raven-san. I trust we shall resolve this issue speedily."_ The video screen flickered and turned black as the connection was cut.

"Resolve this issue speedily huh," a chilling feminine voice, as warm as arctic ice, said from behind them. "Just like Pariston, leaving the crap work to me. Guess that gives me less than half an hour to resolve this issue."

The shooter spun around quickly with a nervous sound. Cheadle turned around more slowly with a resigned sigh.

Two Star Blacklist Hunter Midoya regarded the two of them with a benign smile. "Hello Cheadle-san, glad you are looking well. And you must be Raven. Is that a machine gun or are you just happy to see me?"

And of course, things have just gotten worse.

* * *

><p>It was definitely a machine gun Raven was pointing at Two Star Blacklist Hunter Midoya Kito, and he was definitely not happy to see her. Things were seriously <em>not<em> going to plan. First, Kitty had ended up dead. Then the stupid Pariston had failed to take the bait. Now, he was being faced by two competent hunters, one of whom (he had heard from the whisperings in the conference room) was not a woman to be trifled with if one intended to keep one's balls firmly in one's pants. Things have gone tits up in a great hurry, and though Raven prided himself on his intelligence, he truly had not thought this far.

"Don't you dare move," Raven snarled, trying to point the machine gun at Cheadle and Kito at the same time. "If anyone moves, I blow up the hostages in the conference room."

"Try to calm down," Cheadle suggested calmly. "We can still talk things through."

Talk? What else was there to talk about? This entire plot had been based on getting the Zodiacs and the Chairman to shoot themselves in their feet. Now, it was all for nothing. Kitty had died for _nothing_. Raven snarled at her in response, trying to figure out what the fuck he could do now.

"Quite a conundrum you're in, my dear," Kito said casually, as if she were making an observation about the weather. "I do wonder what your next step will be. Will you try to get out of this alive? Or will you simply blow us all up? Perhaps you would like to commit suicide and save us all the trouble?"

"Please don't give him ideas," Cheadle interjected, sounding mildly alarmed. "There is _no need_ to blow anyone up…"

"If he blows us up," Kito went on, as if Cheadle hadn't spoken, "he would have proved that he is not a man of his words, that the Zodiacs are more honourable than him, that he is the morally lacking one. That would only strengthen the Hunter Association's position in society for the next couple of years."

Raven stared. He honestly hadn't thought of that, but now that she put it that way…

"It was really a rhetoric question," Kito finished with a shrug, "he only has two options. Try to survive or kill himself." She smiled, pink, glossy lips spreading over her hideous scarred face. "So, are you a brave man or are you a smart man? Show me, Raven."

Show her? Oh, he will show her, that fucking hunter whore. Fuck the Hunter Association and fuck the bloody morons who support them. If he was going down, he was bringing everyone down, fuck what the history books said of him. He knew he was morally superior to the Hunter Association and that was enough! Snarling, Raven raised the detonator and pressed down on it.

Nothing happened.

Shaking with rage and disbelief, he pressed the button again. Still nothing. "Wh…?" he exploded, shocked. "That's…"

Kito smiled. "At this moment, my very competent partner has disarmed all the explosives you planted in the conference room and is probably leading the hostages out of this building as we speak. I have no idea why a young teenager like him has knowledge on how to disarm explosives. I suspect the internet is to blame for expanding the frontiers of his knowledge much further than most parents are comfortable with."

"Oh good. Well done, Midoya and your young assistant," Cheadle said and put her hands down. Folding them, she turned and gave Raven an even look. "I strongly suggest you surrender now," she said firmly. "I promise you will be given a fair trial and your cooperation will count towards something."

Slowly, the tip of the machine gun lowered until it was pointing at the floor. Then stonily, Raven let the gun drop to the ground.

"Thank you," Cheadle said. "Midoya?"

"But of course," Midoya replied, drawing a pair of handcuffs out from the purse hanging at her hip. "Arms please, my good sir."

Wearily, Raven held his arms out, head lowered in defeat. Even though he was not looking at her, he felt it when she put a cold, soft hand on one of his arms. The cold steel of the handcuffs pressed against one of his wrist and then wrapped around it with a sharp click.

And it was at that moment Raven materialized the most powerful explosive he could and shoved it against Midoya's chest.

The explosion, when it came, blew the entire roof of the building away.

* * *

><p>Even outside the building, the explosion was strong enough to shake the earth and bring several of the survivors to their knees. Grunting with effort, Kurapika threw his arm around the nearest survivor and pushed him to the ground as debris started to fall around them. The man under him screamed with fright as flames shot up into the sky, turning the world red and orange. Thunder shook the air around them, threatening to put out Kurapika's ears. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough to shake him to the bone.<p>

"Is everyone okay?" Kurapika shouted, struggling to his feet as the thunder died down and hot air flooded the grounds. "Is anyone injured?"

A cacophony of voices met his question, too muddled to make sense of, so Kurapika ignored it. Instead, he looked around, watching for anyone who wasn't climbing back to their feet. "Injured there!" he shouted, pointing at a middle-aged man who was lying motionless on the ground. "Help the injured!" Around him, people started to dazedly congregate on the fallen. Sobbing and agonized groans filled the air as the confusion, terror and pain set in the aftermath of the explosion.

Pulling the man under him to his feet, Kurapika stumbled towards the nearest prone body. It was a young woman, perhaps not much older than him, the entire front of her pale pink blouse drenched in blood. He felt for her pulse and got a weak, erratic rhythm. All sense of modesty abandoned in the face of so much destruction, Kurapika tore open her blouse, trying to find the source of the bleeding. The deep gash that was gorged into her shoulder was too obvious to miss. Quickly, Kurapika tore more of her blouse, forming strips of bandages which he started to wrap tightly around the wound. The temporary dressing wouldn't do much for her though. He needed to get her and the other injured survivors to a hospital immediately.

"Wh…" the bloodless lips mumbled and her eyes started to flutter open.

"Stay down, stay still," Kurapika said, putting a hand on her uninjured shoulder. "You are hurt, but we're going to get you to a hospital. Just stay still. You're hurt real bad and I need to dress your wound or you could die."

The eyes started to clear. "H… hurts…" she gasped, starting to hyperventilate. "It hurts… oh my god… it hurts…"

"Calm down," Kurapika said sharply. "Pull yourself together. You still have a couple of minutes before you bleed to death. There's still time to get you to a hospital."

"Oh god…! Oh god…! I don't wanna die… help me…! Help me! I don't want to die!"

"Stop! Time is of the essence. I need to fix your wound up now or you will die in less than five minutes…" A hand touched him and the young man he had protected just now knelt tiredly next to him.

"Hey Liz," the young man said wearily. "Hey. It's me. Sam. Hey."

"S… Sam…! I'm… I'm hurt… I'm hurt…"

"I know," Sam said, holding her hand, "We're going to get you to a hospital soon, okay? I know it hurts, but it'll be over soon. Just hang in there. I'll stay with you, okay? Take care of you. So don't you worry, kid. I'll patch you up so you'll hold out till we get you a real doctor, okay?"

Tears ran down the worryingly white face, but she nodded weakly. "Okay," she whispered breathlessly. "Okay."

"Thanks," Kurapika murmured to the young man as he finished the dressing. "Stay with her. I'll go help others."

"Okay," the young man agreed. "I'm real grateful for your help, kid. Just a little piece of advice; try being a little more tactful. Not that I'm complaining. You saved our lives. I'm going home to my kids tonight. That's more than I dared hoped for earlier today. Just… you know, it wouldn't hurt to be a little nicer. It just makes things easier, you know? And your head is bleeding too."

Kurapika blinked and touched his head. His hand came away with blood on it. "Just a bleeder," he said awkwardly. "And uh… thanks for the advice."

"No problem." Sam nodded tiredly and turned back to soothing the young woman on the ground.

Kurapika, in turn, climbed to his feet and looked around wearily. Some of the uninjured survivors had started to move the injured further from the burning building. In the distance, sirens could be heard wailing towards them. He estimated that they would arrive within the next ten minutes. That might be too late for some of the more severely injured. An injury like Liz's could go bad very quickly in that span of time. He had to do what he could now.

Dragging his sore legs, he stumbled towards a gasping man. "Hey," he said, trying to sound soothing and gentle and Sam-like, "are you hurt? Let me help you."

The man met his eyes with pupils that had shrunk to pinholes. "My… leg…" he stammered breathlessly, "I… I don't know what happened. How did this happen?" He pointed at his right leg which was now only a jagged stump bleeding out onto the ground. "How do you think this happen?" he gasped, shaking violently. "It doesn't make sense, does it? My leg is supposed to be here. It's… I lost it somewhere. Do you think I should go find it?"

Kurapika eyed the blue lips and sweat pouring profusely down the man's face, and made a quick diagnosis: shock. Not good. "Stay still, let's stop the bleeding first," he said. He reached down and pulled the man's belt off, using it as a makeshift tourniquet around the stump.

The man put a cold, clammy hand on his arm and stammered, "But my leg is still missing. What if someone else finds it and keeps it? I'll never get my leg back."

"We'll find it, don't worry," Kurapika said briskly. He touched the man's pulse and was not surprised to find it beating rapidly but weakly. "Lie down and don't move. I'll… I'll find your leg for you."

"Okay," the man said after a pause, "I'm kind of… I'm kind of tired… anyway."

"Lie down and rest," Kurapika urged.

"Okay," the man said faintly. "Say, did you know you are bleeding?"

"It's nothing," Kurapika said with a sigh.

"Okay," the man repeated then slumped down on the ground with a heavy plop, his face entirely drained of blood.

Kurapika did not like to leave the man alone like this, but there was no one else nearby to help him. He did the best he could, propping the man's legs up and trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Just as he was checking the man's pulse again, someone screamed in a distance.

Quickly, Kurapika clambered to his feet, allowing the Drowsing Chain to drop onto the ground in preparation for battle. There was a brief explosion, nowhere as big as the previous one had been, but big enough to kick up dirt and dust. From within the dust cloud, Kurapika caught a glimpse of black hair and pale skin and a chill ran down his spine. It couldn't be…

Abandoning the dying man, Kurapika ran towards the dust cloud. It couldn't be… or could it? How many dark haired, pale skin men in the world would dare to attack the Hunter Association like this? He had to know, and if it was _him_… Kurapika's eyes glowed red… he was going to kill him.

* * *

><p>The explosion roared around her, threatening to deafen her, but Cheadle stood firmly in the centre of her Nen. Despite the grit and debris being flung against her Nen, she kept her eyes open, trying to watch for signs of action within the centre of the explosion. With the fire, smoke and debris thrown up, it was a fruitless gesture.<p>

But the smoke cleared. The debris stopped falling. The flames continued to burn around her, but they did not obscure her vision anymore. That was why she could see the man known as Raven standing over Midoya's prone body, a triumphant smirk on his face.

"I killed her," he said, grinning widely.

"Perhaps," Cheadle agreed.

"You're next," he hissed, jabbing a finger at Cheadle.

"If you had your way," Cheadle agreed. "But I fear it will not come to that."

Raven's face froze in mid-snarl as he processed her words. Slowly his head turned to look over his shoulder and he saw what Cheadle saw.

Death, with silver eyes glowing red in the flames, gazed at him over a wide, maniac smile. "That tickled," Death said and giggled girlishly.

Raven screamed and ran. Death went after him, howling gleefully.

Cheadle frowned at the ruined Chairman's office and started to plan the reconstruction of the building. There was no need to worry about Raven anymore. She already knew he wouldn't make it far.

* * *

><p>People ran, rushing past him in a panicked frenzy as he in turn ran towards the fight. Through the debris and the mindless mob surging around him, Kurapika couldn't get a good look at the man. All he could see were dark hair and pale skin that immediately reminded him of Kuroro Lucifer, the man he had sworn to kill. Was it him or not? The man wasn't using any Nen, so Kurapika couldn't tell.<p>

Finally, Kurapika burst through the mob, driven to his knees by the force of his action. Gasping, he lifted his head to get a good look at the man before him. The debris cleared briefly, Kurapika's eyes widened and he stopped breathing from sheer horror.

The man didn't have a face. His eyes, nose and ears have been ripped off his face, leaving a bloody, formless mess behind.

"K… Kuroro Lucifer?" Kurapika managed to ask.

The torn face whipped towards him and a long howl of terror and pain wailed out of the black hole within the rivulets of blood. "I'll kill you!" he screamed, gurgling on his own blood.

It wasn't Kuroro Lucifer. The voice, even if mutated by pain and fright, was too different. Kurapika swallowed hard as he backed off from the thrashing figure. He didn't know who this was, but he had no wish to engage the poor creature.

Then another figure emerged from the dust cloud and Kurapika froze in his tracks like a deer caught in the gaze of a stalking tiger.

A woman emerged from the dust. At first sight, she appeared to be a perfectly normal human save for the blood splashed all over her. But Kurapika saw more than that. He saw the way her eyes were orbs of pure silver metal, gleaming red in the flames. He saw the wide, maniac smile on her face as she advanced towards the screaming figure. He saw the way her right hand held a blood-stained silver blade that _grew_ out of her flesh. She looked like a fallen angel emerged from the flames of hell.

A shock ran through him as he abruptly recognised her. Good lord, it was _Midoya_.

Kurapika remained rooted to the ground as the monstrous figure, glowing with Nen and gleaming with silver gripped the man's collar and raised the blade, laughing with breathless excitement like a teenage girl after her first kiss. The dark-haired man plunged to his feet, a violent gesture driven by absolute terror. That was enough to break Kurapika's stasis.

"Stop!" he shouted, rushing forward and lashing out a warning shot with the Dowsing Chain. "That is enough! Stop! Midoya!"

The gleaming silver eyes snapped towards him and the smile widened. The figure took one step towards him, soft limbs flowing with a sensuous, predatory grace, and Kurapika whipped the chain in her direction in a desperate attempt to ensnare her before she made her move.

She vanished.

Visions of the fight with the intruder known as Kitty flashed through his mind and his throat clenched up with fear as he spun around, instinctively raising his arms in defence. Powerful hands sneaked past his defence and gripped his throat tightly. For a moment, he couldn't breathe, couldn't think clearly. Then he was put back onto the ground gently.

"Why on earth did you attack me for? Did you get everyone out safe?" a low, _sane_ feminine voice asked.

Breathing hard, Kurapika forced his eyes open and stared at her face through a haze of red. He took a deep, shuddering breath and tried to force the Eyes away. "Yes," he snarled, shaking with adrenaline. "Everyone is safe. You need to stop now."

She nodded, and he realised her eyes were back to normal. "Of course," she said softly. "Of course I have to." She looked around and Kurapika's eyes followed hers. The survivors were standing a good distant away, staring at them with a mixture of horror, revulsion and (Kurapika shuddered) guilty satisfaction. "My apologies," she added, inclining her head at him, "this Raven person almost got me, and that… incensed me enough that I attacked him with more vehemence that I normally would have."

Incensed? The look on her face when she lifted the man to execute him hadn't been rage; it had been glee, sheer, malicious glee. But Kurapika nodded anyway. "Of course," he said. "Well, at any rate, I think you have regained your reputation as a hunter to be reckoned with now."

"Perhaps," she replied with a smile. "Did you know your forehead is bleeding?"

"Just a bleeder," Kurapika repeated with a sigh.

"Don't be stubborn, dear Kurapika. Any blow to the head is cause for concern. Let me take a look at it."

As Midoya took a step towards him, she turned her back on the intruder. Thus, she didn't see it when the bloodied figure rose to its feet and fixed sightless eyes on her. The gaping hole that used to be a mouth let out a gurgling, feral howl of rage.

"Watch out!" Kurapika shouted in alarm as Midoya spun around, instinctively dropping to a defensive crouch.

But the bloodied figure did not attack her. Instead, it turned towards the crowd of survivors staring at him with horror. Screaming with rage, the bloodied figure clenched torn hands into fists and started to burn with Nen.

The smell of gunpowder reached Kurapika and he jerked in realisation. "He's turning himself into a bomb!" he shouted at Midoya over the howl of Nen being drawn towards the figure. "He's going to blow up the survivors! He's going to take them all with him!"

Just as he said that, the bloodied figure started to run towards the crowd, screaming hysterical laughter. Midoya immediately ran after him, moving even faster than he had seen her move previously. But even so, Kurapika knew she wasn't going to make it. Raven was too near the crowd, and she too far. The crowd, sensing the danger, started to run, but it was too late. Kurapika stood frozen to the spot, watching with agonized clarity as the blood-drenched figure reached the crowd and…

"Freeze, evil villain!" a high-pitched voice shrieked.

The figure froze. The crowd froze. Even Midoya froze in her tracks.

A skinny, stooped figure in a guard's uniform leapt from a tree onto the ground. Dull grey eyes fixed themselves on the bloodied figure with an enraged glare. "Cease and desist, evil villain!" the same high-pitched voice cried. "In the name of the benevolent Lady Midoya Kito, Goddess of All Things Beautiful and Furry and Fertile, I shall slay thee!"

Then with a loud screech of disapproval, he flung himself bodily at the intruder.

* * *

><p>After separating from the beautiful vision of femininity that was the lovely Lady Midoya Kito, East Wing Guard had spent some time patrolling the damaged corridors of the Hunter Association, desperately seeking out survivors, just as the Lady had instructed. To his dismay, most of the corridors he scoured were empty, and those that were not were already occupied by guards moving a steady stream of survivors up to a safe room. East Wing guard could not have been more bitterly frustrated. The Lady had honoured him with such a grand task, yet these <em>stupid<em> survivors refused to cooperate and wait around for him to save them! How was he to accomplish the Lady's task if these stupid people were _so_ damn rude?

East Wing Guard said as much to a man of some Middle-Eastern descent, lovely chocolate skin turned ashy with blood loss and pain, and got a shaky middle finger in return. "Damn rude, I say," East Wing Guard said, shaking his head sadly as the dying man was shuttered away, "damn _rude_." He continued to repeat that to the survivors streaming past in an attempt to get them to work with him, but he was steadfastly ignored. Eventually, another guard, some burly, brainless type that Lady Kito would _never_ have entrusted any tasks to, came up and told East Wing Guard, in very clear terms, to help or get lost.

"Help or get lost," the guard said brusquely.

Of course they would want his help since he had been anointed with Lady Kito's blessings, but surely there was a better way to ask for it! Just to spite the guard, who was surely the spawn of a gorilla and a tractor, East Wing Guard had given him a very definite _no_, and trooped off back into the battlefield to continue his noble mission.

Unfortunately, the corridors continued to be stubbornly empty of human life. Still, East Wing Guard carried on, his face set with determination. It would be a poor soldier who would _give up_ just because most of the survivors managed to escape. Surely, with time and patience, and a good deal of intuitive detective work, East Wing Guard would surely find a survivor holed up somewhere!

An indeterminate amount of time later, East Wing Guard happened on a prone human form. Quickly, he scurried forward and crouched before it. He tried to feel for the pulse at the neck, but the form had the disagreeable infliction of a missing head and neck. So East Wing Guard felt for the pulse at the wrist instead. There was none. Sighing at this regrettable turn of events, East Wing Guard dropped the wrist carelessly, frowning at the sharp, bloody claws lining each finger as he did. Honestly! Women and the ridiculous things they did to be fashionable! If only all women would be like the lovely Lady Kito, the world would be a _much_ better place!

Jaw set, East Wing Guard continued to troop down the corridors. Still, no survivors presented themselves to him and East Wing Guard started to feel quite desperate. Just as his mind started to descend into panic, it suddenly occurred to him that if all the _other_ guards were searching the corridors, there was _no one searching the outer grounds_. East Wing Guard brightened up at that thought. Surely there might be survivors out there, severely injured but still alive!

Panting with excitement, East Wing Guard did a quick turn and headed for the nearest window. (He thus completely missed a roomful of frightened, injured people, who would be killed in the subsequent explosion that almost levelled the entire building.) Quickly, he scrambled through the window and dropped all five feet of it to the ground where he landed and rolled to his feet like the true soldier that he was. Following that, it occurred to him that he was now standing in an open space and thus an easy target for anyone sniping out of any window in the building. Hence, he immediately dropped to a crouch and rolled to the cover of the nearest tree.

Looking around from his newly acquired cover, East Wing Guard immediately spotted another problem. The outer grounds of the building were designed to resemble a pleasant, neat park. This meant that any trees were placed a good distance from each other to give the park a good balance of space and shade. The only way East Wing Guard would be able to remain in cover was to roll from tree to tree – so that was what he did.

After rolling for a minute or two and still not finding any survivors, East Wing Guard was forced to stop and take a break. As he sat on the ground with his back to a tree, he wondered how he was going to explain his failure to the lovely Lady Kito. Surely she would forgive him for his failure! She would understand that it was the _survivors_ that were being uncooperative! After all, she was such a beacon of kindness, gentleness and mercy!

Come to think of it, East Wing Guard mused in that deep and philosophical way he sometimes lapsed into (the curse of a highly intelligent brain, undoubtedly), Lady Kito seemed almost too good to be true. Could there truly be a woman such as she; so full of love, kindness and mercy? Could there truly be a woman so powerful, so noble, and so honourable? Could she truly be of the same species like those sad creatures scuttling about, trying to escape the danger instead of waiting for him to save them? He tried to imagine Lady Kito being _rude_ and failed. There can only be one conclusion drawn then.

Lady Kito wasn't human.

She was a _goddess_.

It was the only explanation that made sense. She must be some divine entity, come down from the heavens to separate the chaff from the wheat, to choose the special from the common. Surely that must be the case! One need only to gaze into her beautiful (black… blue… green…what colour were they again?) eyes to see her divinity shining from within!

But if she was a goddess (and of course she _is_), what was she goddess of? Well, East Wing Guard mused, she _was_ a woman, and so surely she must have something to do with Beauty and Fertility. East Wing Guard knew enough about religion to know that female deities are _always_ about beauty and fertility. He supposed it's because women liked babies and makeup and all that stuff, and surely female deities are the same. But, Lady Kito was surely too special a goddess to _only_ be about beauty and fertility! Well, other than being a woman, she was also a powerful Hunter, a rich heiress, and kind of fat. East Wing Guard thought about that but couldn't see how those things could have anything to do with divine-hood. Well, she _was_ a woman above all, he supposed, so she probably liked animals too. Like… kittens and puppies and… and… squirrels. Perhaps she was a goddess of animals too? But wait! Didn't women like teddy bears and other non-animate furry things too? Ah! It seemed he had divined the whole of her true nature.

Lady Kito was obviously the Goddess of Beautiful, Furry and Fertile Things.

Excited by his discovery, East Wing Guard drew his legs to his chest and hugged himself, giggling. That was the only reason he managed to keep his legs when a powerful explosion shook the earth and a giant piece of shrapnel buried itself into the ground right in front of him.

Screaming in panic, East Wing Guard shot to his feet and scrambled away, staring in terror at the shrapnel as if he were afraid it would claw out of the ground and come after him. When it didn't, he sank back to the ground, gasping from the effects of adrenaline.

Then the sounds of screams and moans filled the air. Immediately, East Wing Guard was back on his feet again. He knew those sounds! Those were the sounds of people dying! There were survivors! He could accomplish the mission after all!

Panting like a dog on a scent, he raced towards the sounds of pain and terror, eager to drag someone, _anyone_, to safety. When he burst out into the clearing though, it was not the injured he saw; it was a featureless man launching himself at the survivors.

Hence, with an outraged cry, East Wing Guard, the Chosen One, High Priest to the Goddess of Beautiful, Furry and Fertile Things, launched himself at the enemy to complete his mission or die trying.

* * *

><p>Kurapika made an incredulous sound as the tiny, scrawny man with the wispy goatee leapt at the faceless intruder, arms wind-milling as he pummelled at the intruder with weak blows. If the intruder hadn't been so greatly weakened, blinded and deafened by Midoya, the scrawny man who was barely using any Nen would be dead by now. However, the intruder, blind and deaf, disorientated from summoning so much Nen, and too confused by the strange attacks that did not feel like attacks, was too distracted to actually retaliate other than with some feeble blocks. Hence, the scrawny newcomer pressed his advantage, flailing uselessly at the intruder as he screamed, "I will slay you in the name of Goddess Kito!"<p>

The intruder actually stopped moving, his body language expressing confusion as the newcomer struck feeble blow after feeble blow on the unrelenting body.

"Good god, what am I watching?" Kurapika muttered, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. "Is this real?"

"I fear it is, Kurapika," Midoya replied, sounding as astounded as he was. "This is rather… rather bizarre, I must say, and coming from me, that is saying a lot."

"Do I dare ask why he called you a goddess?"

"I confess to being as thoroughly confused as you, Kurapika. I always thought that if I were to be a supernatural creature, I would be a leprechaun." At Kurapika's questioning glance, she added, "Short, fat and has plenty of gold buried at the end of a rainbow."

"You do?"

"It's an island called Rainbow Island. Seek the gold there at your own risk. Given your level of intelligence and power, I give you two hours before you end up dead."

"I wouldn't," Kurapika replied wryly. "I'm not the Genei Ryodan."

Midoya laughed then turned her attention back to the, for lack of a better word, _fight_ going on.

The intruder was standing stock still, head tilted slightly as he tried to make sense of the situation. The newcomer was still pounding on him, screaming violently. It was the most remarkable stalemate any of them had seen ever.

"Huh."

"If anything, I must applaud him for his vigour. I would not have expected it in a man of his age."

"I guess. His energy is quite… quite impressive."

"Still," Midoya said firmly. "This cannot be allowed to go on. I am going in to apprehend the intruder. Watch my back."

"I will."

Swiftly, Midoya made a beeline for the pair. As she did though, the intruder's head snapped towards her. He sensed her Nen, Kurapika realised. With growing dread, he watched the intruder's body tense with anger. Then the intruder howled with rage and shoved the newcomer away from him. Immediately, Midoya sped up, zooming towards the intruder faster than the eye can see.

Kurapika started to run forward too, sensing the intruder's Nen start to swell.

Before either of them could reach the intruder, the newcomer leapt to his feet, glowing with Nen. "I'm a sucky Nen-user!" the scrawny man screeched. "But if there's one thing I'm good at, it's _hiding_!" Then Nen swelled up from the newcomer's body and he leapt onto the intruder.

At the same time, the explosion went off.

* * *

><p>For a moment, all Kurapika wanted to do was keep his eyes shut forever so he wouldn't need to look at the damage that was done. Midoya had been <em>so<em> close to the centre of the explosion. No matter how powerful she was, it was unlikely she would survive a second dose of the intruder's Nen unscathed. He did not want to see her innards lying on the ground. He did not want to see her blood staining the grass.

But in the end, Kurapika was a brave man, and he forced himself to open his eyes.

The first thing he noted was that Midoya was unharmed. She was standing right next to a prone form, her expression one of mild surprise as she looked down on it. Kurapika's eyes followed hers to the figure on the ground and he too blinked in surprise. It was the newcomer. He had, it seemed, at the last moment, formed a thick layer of protective Nen around the intruder which had absorbed the force of the explosion. The human parts held within the protective Nen proved that point.

Even as Kurapika watched, the Nen, never very strong or stable to begin with, dissipated, and what remained of the intruder splattered to the ground. Moaning deeply, the newcomer raised his head to gaze up at Midoya with a gaze full of love and adoration.

"My goddess," he groaned. "Oh… I am dying… take… take my hand… please…"

With a good deal more composure than Kurapika, who was struggling not to smile, would have expected, Midoya calmly knelt beside the man and gripped his hand. "Hi," she said cheerily.

"Ah, Goddess of Beautiful, Furry and Fertile Things," the man moaned, causing someone in the crowd to giggle and Midoya to blink. "You are so beautiful… up close… Oh, for you to be the last thing that I see before I pass is… is gratifying."

"You're not dying," Kurapika said, having knelt next to Midoya to examine the prone figure. "Your wounds are quite superficial, if anything."

"Alas I lie on my death bed," the man groaned, ignoring Kurapika with great dignity. "Please, before I go to your Castle in the Sky Filled with Teddy Bears and Beautiful Virgins, please… tell me one thing."

"Yes?" Midoya asked, her eyes darting around, starting to look slightly uncomfortable.

"Please… tell me… that I have met your expectations… that I have completed my mission as you have… ordered me to."

"Erm… yeah, sure. You totally completed your mission."

A relieved smile spread over the man's face. "Good. Then I can rest in peace," he whispered. "Till we next meet…" His eyes abruptly rolled back into his head and he lapsed into a dead faint.

Midoya immediately dropped the hand and Kurapika looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Who on earth was that?" Kurapika asked. "He sounded like he knew you."

"I have no idea," Midoya replied, still looking quite bemused. "And how on earth did I become a goddess of beautiful, furry and fertile things? Has anyone seen my face? And, yes, despite what that rumour circulating the Net says, I _do_ shave my underarms and legs. And, if you must know, I've never ever been able to keep any potted plants without them wilting out of self-defence in a week or two."

"Perhaps it's one of those mysteries we'll never solve," Kurapika said, struggling to hide a smile.

"Perhaps," Midoya admitted, with a careless laugh. "Though this has ruined my reputation a lot more than letting Kuroro Lucifer escape has. Now, I need to do something scary and terrible again, just to prove I don't live in a castle filled with teddy bears and virgins."

"I have no idea what you mean," Kurapika said innocently. "You have upgraded from Hunter to Goddess after all."

"Oh bite me, rookie," Midoya replied with no real heat in her voice as she climbed to her feet and regarded the police, who had finally arrived, coolly. "The medics and police have arrived, so the survivors are fine for now. Let's go find Cheadle."

"What for?"

Midoya's lips quirked. "So we know what story to tell the police of course."

As she started to walk away, Kurapika said, "I apologize."

"For what?"

"For doubting you."

Midoya glanced over her shoulder at him, an eyebrow raised. "Doubting me?" she asked curiously.

"I thought you were insane, that you were immoral; but I was wrong." Kurapika inclined his head slightly. "You are a respectable Hunter. You have managed to salvage this situation and save many lives."

To his surprise, she burst into laughter.

"What?" he demanded, annoyed with her amusement.

"Oh darling," she said finally, reaching over and pinching both his cheeks. "You are really too cute."

* * *

><p>In Pepeka's apartment, preparations for their boat trip the next day were finished, and Kuroro found himself sitting rather unwillingly in front of the television with Midoya and Pepeka, eating from a large bowl of spiced nuts. Given a choice, he would have been reading a book in the room by himself. However, Pepeka's apartment proved to be disagreeably lacking in books, so unless Kuroro wished to spend his time in bed staring at the ceiling, he had no choice but to watch the television with his new help. At least they had the sense to watch the news instead of some of the more appalling movies Midoya sometimes did.<p>

"_Newsflash!_" the screen screamed and a pretty woman appeared above the words. _"Good afternoon. This is Milly from the York Shin Daily News,"_ she said. _"We come to you today with shocking news from the Hunter Association, York Shin HQ."_

"Let's change the channel," Pepeka said, sounding bored.

"No, let's watch this," Midoya said immediately, smiling mysteriously at Kuroro. Kuroro raised an eyebrow at her but she ignored him.

"_Earlier today, a terrorist by the name of Raven attempted to take over the HAYS HQ and hold the employees hostage in exchange for the disbandment of the Zodiacs and the resignation of Chairman Netero. Details are scarce at the moment but from what we gathered, the terrorists have been neutralized and his requests nullified. My colleague, Jenny, on the scene, brings us more news. Jenny, what can you tell us about the situation?" _

"Holy shit!" Pepeka gasped. "Terrorists attacked the HQ? What the fuck?"

Another pretty face appeared on the screen, framed by a building that looked entirely too familiar to Kuroro. The last time he was there, it hadn't been in ruins though. _"Thank you, Milly. This is Jenny, live from the HAYS HQ. As you mentioned, Milly, details are scarce at the moment. However, from what can be seen, it seems that the terrorists have been apprehended and the police and Hunter Association are now cleaning up the HQ. They have also released a statement just a few minutes ago." _

The pretty face disappeared to reveal another pretty face, this time male. Midoya snorted and Kuroro glanced at her curiously, but she ignored him. _"Greeting, Citizens of York Shin. I am Pariston, Vice-Chairman of the Hunter Association."_ A smile as lovely as a sunrise and as sincere as a whore's practically leapt from the screen. _"As all of you must have heard by now, the Hunter Association HQ in York Shin was attacked by terrorists earlier today. The terrorists have been neutralized and the hostages rescued. We have suffered a number of casualties, though we are unsure of the numbers just yet. Investigations are still on-going as to how the terrorists got into the building in the first place. With his death, his requests for the disbandment of the Zodiac and the resignation of Chairman Netero have been cancelled. Hence, the Zodiac and Chairman Netero still run the Hunter Association. We hope to continue to be of service to you and we send our condolences to the victims of this mindless attack and their family." _

"Fuck," Pepeka breathed. "That was _huge_. Why didn't you say anything when you got back, sensei?"

"Because I have a surprise for you," Midoya sang with too much cheer. Kuroro stared at her even more suspiciously and she grinned widely at him.

The pretty face in front of the burning building reappeared. _"Great news, Milly, we have found the three people that the Hunter Association representative here, Cheadle-san, has claimed are the ones primarily responsible for the neutralization of the terrorists." _The screen zoomed out suddenly and Midoya appeared on screen, recognisable despite the mask on her face by those who knew her, next to a put-out looking pretty blonde boy and a scrawny, stooped man.

Kuroro's jaw dropped despite himself and he stared wordlessly at Midoya. She grinned widely at his shock.

"_Now, Madam, I understand that you are the one who led this efficient strike team in the successful mission of neutralizing the terrorist." _

"_Yes," Midoya replied shortly. _

"_Could you give us some details, please?"_

The scrawny person on screen gripped the microphone from the reporter immediately. _"It was entirely due to Lady Kito that we are alive and victorious! She is a Goddess you know? Of Beauty, Furry things and Fertility."_

An awkward silence fell over the trio as Pepeka joined Kuroro in staring at Midoya.

"Apparently I've upgraded from Hunter to Goddess," Midoya quipped.

"You met the chain-user," Kuroro said.

"I did," Midoya agreed, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

"You fought alongside him, leading this… this task force."

"Oh yes."

Kuroro eyed her carefully. "So what did you learn about him?" he asked.

Midoya grinned and replied, "That he is simply adorable."

* * *

><p><span>AN: And that is the end of this short story! I hope you, my dear reader, enjoyed it. It definitely did not turn out the way I wanted it to. The reason was of my own failing. I could not, literally _could not_, write Kurapika's character without it degenerating into pure emo-ness. So, I changed this story into an action fic. What can I say? I failed miserably at what I first set out to do, which was to make a humourous fic about the moral, upright Kurapika encountering the chaos that is Midoya. Still, I hope it was a good read and not an utter waste of time.


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